Winnipeg U-Haul locker contained 6 dead babies

Winnipeg police have charged a 40-year-old woman after the remains of 6 babies were found inside a storage locker.

Andrea Giesbrecht, who is also known as Andrea Naworynski, was arrested outside a home in the Maples neighbourhood and charged with six counts of concealing the body of a child.

The disturbing discovery was made by employees at a U-Haul facility in the city's West Alexander neighbourhood Monday afternoon.

The U-Haul employees had gone in to clean out the locker because rental payments had not been made.

Police initially said they believed there were three or four bodies found in various states of decomposition, but they have now increased that to six.

Autopsies are taking place on the remains to determine the cause of death and their ages, police said. The forensic examination and DNA analysis will also help determine whether Giesbrecht is the mother to all of the babies.

"A lengthy forensic examination and analysis, expected to be months in duration, has begun," police stated in a news release on Wednesday.

Members of the police service's child abuse unit are investigating, and depending on where that leads, members of the homicide unit could join in, police said.

Giesbrecht has also been charged with breach of probation in connection with court orders stemming from two fraud convictions in 2012.

Greg Brodsky, Giesbrecht's lawyer, said he'll be going to court on Thursday to set a bail hearing date for his client.

He said Giesbrecht was first arrested for homicide but those charges were changed to the offence of concealing bodies.

"I can tell you this is a weird case, a very difficult case, a case that should be investigated thoroughly and I'm hoping that the authorities do that," he said.

"It's a case that will have to be defended vigorously and I'm prepared to do that."