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Woman pleads guilty to causing the deaths of two infants in P.E.I.

Shannon Dawn Rayner has admitted placing the bodies in bags and dumping them in a waste bin
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Shannon Dawn Rayner of Charlottetown pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of infanticide related to separate incidents in February 2014 and November 2016. (Black Press Media file photo)

A P.E.I. woman has admitted in court to causing the deaths of two infants, placing their bodies in bags and dumping them in a waste bin.

Court documents say the babies both died “a short time” after they were born.

READ MORE: Jury selection has begun for trial of Oak Bay father charged with murder of young daughters

Shannon Dawn Rayner of Charlottetown pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of infanticide related to separate incidents in February 2014 and November 2016.

However, the Crown directed a stay of proceedings on two counts of failing to seek assistance in child birth and two counts of disposing of a child’s body with intent to conceal the fact it had been delivered.

Court heard that a psychiatric assessment determined Rayner was fit to stand trial.

The assessment also found she did not suffer from a mental disorder that could have made her “not criminally responsible” for the crimes.

The Canadian Press

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