Woman & Newborn Triplets Found Dead

A 26 or 27 yr. old woman (depending on source) was found deceased with her three newborn triplet sons on Tuesday afternoon in CT. She was discovered by her mother.

The woman's mother had suspected her pregnancy, but had not spoken to her about it. The triplets appear to have been carried to term.

The deceased woman had two other children, a 6-yr. old son and 2-yr. old daughter. She was described by friends as positive, happy, and a good mother.


Detailed local source:
http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Woman-newborn-triplets-found-dead-in-Shelton-347733.php

Short blip from Fox:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,584702,00.html

This is so sad! I am confused as to how nobody knew she was pregnant with triplets, including her boyfriend??

I don't get it. This is not some teen we're talking about - but a 27 year old woman, who already had 2 children. She didn't even tell her boyfriend.

How do you hide full term triplets without anyone noticing that bump on your belly?

It appears that she died giving birth to the triplets in the house."

It appeared the triplets were carried full-term, Trabka said, although he added the family was apparently unaware that Hope was pregnant.

This makes me so incredibly sad 4 lives gone so unnecessarily.

Mel

So tragic!....and this has "hinky" written all over it. I hope we learn more.

Oh my gosh, how incredibly sad. I have so many questions. Why did she hide her pregnancy? She was still with the father of her other kids. Did she get any prenatal care? If not, did she even know she was carrying multiples? How in the world can nobody notice she was pregnant with TRIPLETS and FULL TERM?? I wonder what her plan was when the babies were born, assuming she didn't know there were three in there. How terrible. My heart goes out to her family, especially her children. Such a tragedy

It can sometimes be hard to tell when someone is pregnant. But HOW can nobody realize that a woman is pregnant with full term triplets?? I can't imagine you can hide it that well. Were all three babies fully delivered? Were the umbilical cords cut or tied off? There is a lot of missing information. I understand that they are probably trying to respect the poor family of this woman. But are they 100% sure that this was a "natural" death? It just seems a bit hinky to me.

That is both incrediably sad, and some what... a little hard to swallow...

so where were the two other children? how long was she laying there before someone found them? If they were all born and full term why are they dead?

This is really strange?????

This just gets a little stranger by the article.

Supposedly the woman is married and get this her mother and her husband live with the family.

This article has alot of info.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,584704,00.html

It wasn't clear whether the woman knew she was carrying triplets before giving birth Tuesday. Her husband, William Hope, acknowledged Wednesday that his wife was "big" and said he doesn't know why she died.

"That's going to be the question we'll never have an answer for," he said.

Foul play is not suspected, Trabka said. William and Victoria Hope also have a 6-year-old son, as well as a 2-year-old daughter, who was at home in a crib when the woman died, he said.

An autopsy may be completed Wednesday, the state medical examiner's office said

more at the link

I think this was probably a case of clinical denial. Maybe she never received prenatal care and didn't suspect she was carrying triplets, but most of the "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant" scenarios fly out the window when it comes to full term (which in the case of triplets could be 36 weeks) triplets. Gone is the ability to not feel the baby because its posterior, or because there's a tilted uterus, etc. Was she massively obese? There's no mistaking a multiples belly. I just don't get it.

Pre-pregnancy, I was probably carrying an extra 25 pounds. I'm definitely not a skinny-mini. However, this morning I was in PAIN from movement from one baby. I could feel his butt raise up like five inches. You can't pass that off as gas. If I had gas like that, I'd call an ambulance, I think.

And all her friends' accounts of the woman seem out of line with a woman who would hide a pregnancy. Happy mother with other children, etc. I know we can't know what's really going on in someone's head, but the story is just bizarre.

Triplets are very difficult to deliver vaginally. They're all in different positions, usually. I find myself wanting to know more about the scene, if only because I want to know if any of the babies suffered serious injury on the way out. How much did she tear, and was that the reason for her hemorrhage? Was she really able to deliver all three babies unassisted before she died? It's really quite a feat in a very morbid way.

Your average triplet delivery occurs at 33 weeks. They just plain run out of room.

This is kind of a separate deal, because I think there were serious issues going on here--but this is why unassisted homebirth should be illegal. I feel for the mother in this case, but three little lives snuffed out...tragic. Whether she was just mentally gone or in denial...I can't bring myself to believe she didn't know.

Maybe nothing more than shoddy reporting but why is the victim's mother reported as having the same last name as the victim and victim's husband?

Good question. And it sounds like the whole family suspected she was pregnant, including the husband. Did the subject ever come up? Did the husband ever see her without a shirt on? I just find this absolutely amazing. These people all lived together, and never pressed the issue?

Three little babies paid the price. Sad.

The "police" said the babies appeared to be full term. Highly unlikely. Usually
triplets or more are ALWAYS early. My neighbor has three year old triplets.
She delivered early. Her OB told her in the beginning she would not go full term. Plus she was large. Even at 5 months. It was her second pregency.

This is just sad all the way arround.

Logger said:

The "police" said the babies appeared to be full term. Highly unlikely. Usually
triplets or more are ALWAYS early. My neighbor has three year old triplets.
She delivered early. Her OB told her in the beginning she would not go full term. Plus she was large. Even at 5 months. It was her second pregency.

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I had a teacher in high school who had triplets. She carried them to 7 or 8 months. At that time she was on bed rest and measured as big around as she was tall. Granted, she was barely over 5 feet, but that's 60+ inches around!

This is one of the strangest stories I've read in a long time. I have so many questions, I don't even know where to begin. So, they suspected she was pg but she denied it. Why? There is no way, like others have said, that these babies could have been full-term. No way. I have a feeling the police on the scene just aren't familiar with full-term newborns or something they just guessed wrong.

I hope more info comes out because there are a lot of unanswered questions. Sad story, nonetheless.

January. said:

Oh my gosh, how incredibly sad. I have so many questions. Why did she hide her pregnancy? She was still with the father of her other kids. Did she get any prenatal care? If not, did she even know she was carrying multiples? How in the world can nobody notice she was pregnant with TRIPLETS and FULL TERM?? I wonder what her plan was when the babies were born, assuming she didn't know there were three in there. How terrible. My heart goes out to her family, especially her children. Such a tragedy

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My only thought is maybe she was an incredible "fluffy" person. Do we have a picture of her. I can't see any other avenue to hide a triplicate pregnancy. Heck, maybe she didn't even know she was pregnant (ever watch that show - "I was pregnant and didn't know it". Hard to imagine, but it happens (though I've not seen it with triple births).

Best,

Mel

So utterly sad. Whatever happened, may they RIP

SleuthyMama said:

Maybe nothing more than shoddy reporting but why is the victim's mother reported as having the same last name as the victim and victim's husband?

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It sounds like the victim and the father of the babies weren't married. He is referred to as the boyfriend and his name isn't given. The woman's last name is Hope, and the article gives her parents' last name as Hope.

It appears that she bled to death and the triplets were stillborn.

She was apparently a large woman and gave medical excuses to cover her weight gain.

Her identity has been confirmed, out of respect, I won't post her name.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/03/victoria-hope-hid-triplet_n_447443.html