Neighbors 'sick' after Cadogan woman charged in the deaths of 4 infants

Jessica Mauthe spent nearly her whole life living in a rented home on Oak Avenue in Cadogan, where her father also previously lived.

Though she mostly kept to herself, neighbors said nothing seemed abnormal about the goings-on at the white two-story home — until Sept. 13.

That’s when the owner of the house, Brent Flanigan, made a grisly discovery while cleaning out the house after Mauthe was evicted.

Then, police came.

By Monday, Mauthe, 39, was in jail, charged in connection with the deaths of three infants whose bodies were found in her home. More charges were added Thursday, when, police said, a fourth dead infant was found in the home. Mauthe now faces single charges of criminal homicide and involuntary manslaughter and four counts each of abuse of a corpse and concealing the death of a child.

At the home, she lived with a roommate and raised two young boys, longtime neighbor Carmen Felix said.

Mauthe’s husband, Jacob Mauthe, is incarcerated at SCI Laurel Highlands after pleading guilty to endangering the welfare of children and DUI last year.

Felix said he often saw Mauthe’s boys, who he said were between 6 and 8 years old, playing nearby and many neighbors volunteered to babysit them in their homes when Mauthe worked.

State police said the boys are staying with extended family.

Neighbors reported Mauthe was employed at nearby Falsetti’s Villa Restaurant. The restaurant declined a TribLive request for comment.

When he heard about the corpses in the home, Felix said he was in disbelief, a sentiment he said many neighbors share.

“People (in the neighborhood) are sick,” he said.

Flanigan said he bought the property a little more than three years ago.

He didn’t interact much with Mauthe, other than to remind her to pay the rent, he said.

She hadn’t paid rent in nearly a year, and, in August, Flanigan evicted Mauthe from the house.

But he said he never imagined any criminal behavior on Mauthe’s part, let alone the deaths of four infants.

That changed as he cleared out the home last week. He said a worker located a foul-smelling garbage bag in an upstairs closet.

“I just knew it was something bad. I knew there was something dead in there,” Flanigan said.

After he found the first of the four corpses, he called South Buffalo police, who eventually brought in Pennsylvania state troopers.

In the attic, troopers located three other corpses in garbage and grocery bags within totes, the complaint against Mauthe states.

Though the scene was horrible, Flanigan said he’s glad the infants were located. He said crews could have just as easily thrown away the bags without knowing what they contained.

A spokeswoman for the Armstrong County Children’s Bureau declined to comment on the case.

Another nearby neighbor, who declined to be named, said he saw little of Mauthe, but her boys often played with his children.

There wasn’t anything especially abnormal about the family, he said.

“I can’t think of anything that went on there that wouldn’t in any American home,” he said. “That’s the worst part.”

Police allege Mauthe wrapped four dead babies in towels and concealed them in garbage bags and buckets in a closet and the home’s attic.

She told police she gave birth to at least three of the children in her bathroom, according to a criminal complaint filed against her. No details about the fourth child were included in the complaint.

Mauthe told authorities she passed out atop the first child after she gave birth and found it lifeless when she awoke, according to court papers. Authorities believe that was about six years ago.

The second child, born later, made no noise, and she removed it from the toilet and confirmed it was dead, according to court papers.

About a year ago, she gave birth to another child in the toilet, wrapping it in towels and holding it against her until it stopped breathing, according to court papers.

Mauthe never sought medical attention for the infants, nor reported their deaths, authorities said.

Mauthe is being held without bond in Armstrong County jail. A preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 30 before District Judge J. Gary DeComo in Ford City.