A woman in Espoo held in the deaths of her three children earlier this week has admitted to having taken their lives. Both the woman's lawyer Jarkko Jaatela and the head of the investigation, Jukka Kaski of the Espoo Police, have confirmed the matter to Helsingin Sanomat.
Neither of the two gave any information on how and why she killed the eight-year-old twin girls, and nearly two-year-old boy.
Kaski said that the women had not denied killing the children at any point.
He adds that the findings of the forensic investigation are consistent with the woman's story.
Espoo District Court remanded the 40-year-old woman on suspicion of three murders on Thursday.
The remand hearing was held behind closed doors at the request of both the police and the suspect's lawyer.
Journalists were briefly allowed into the courtroom before the judge cleared the court of outsiders.
The suspect, dressed in a grey and white striped shirt, looked downcast and nodded slightly when the judge said that the court was to rule on an application to have her remanded in custody.
She also tried to cover her face.
Lawyer Jaatela did not say on Thursday if the defence would argue diminished capacity on the part of the suspect.
He said that he agreed with the police not to make any public comments at this stage, as they might encumber the investigation.
The court set October 24th as the deadline for filing formal charges.
"It seems now that the preliminary investigation will be ready in good time before that", says investigator Kaski. Police found the bodies of the three children in an apartment in the Suvela district of Espoo on Monday. The woman herself was also in the apartment at the time. Police believe that the three died either on Sunday or Monday.
