For nearly 50 years, their deaths were recorded as tragic mysteries -- one after another, blamed on sudden infant death syndrome. Marie Noe was nearly 70 before anyone learned the truth.
A Pattern No One Questioned
Between 1949 and 1968, ten children born to Marie and Arthur Noe of Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood died, most in infancy. Two deaths were later attributed to natural causes; the other eight, none of the children older than 15 months, were attributed at the time to sudden infant death syndrome, a diagnosis of exclusion used when no other cause could be identified. The Noes drew national sympathy as "the most bereaved parents in America," profiled by outlets including Life and Newsweek in the 1960s.
A Magazine Investigation Reopens the Case
In April 1998, journalist Stephen Fried published a 13,000-word investigation in Philadelphia magazine titled "Cradle to Grave," revisiting the Noe children's deaths three decades later. The day the article was published, homicide detectives brought Marie Noe, then 69, in for questioning for the first time since her children had died.
The Confession
After roughly 11 hours of interrogation, Noe confessed to smothering at least some of her children with a pillow, though she told investigators she could only clearly recall killing four of them -- Richard, Elizabeth, Jacqueline, and Constance. She was charged in August 1998 with eight counts of first-degree murder.
A Plea Agreement, Not Prison
Noe pleaded guilty to eight counts of second-degree murder in 1999. Her plea agreement called for 20 years of probation, with the first five years served under house arrest, on the condition that she participate in a psychiatric study intended to help researchers understand what had driven her to kill her children. That study never took place.
The Years That Followed
Marie Noe continued living with her husband Arthur in their Kensington home for over a decade after her conviction. Arthur died in December 2009. Weeks later, in one of her final public statements, Marie, then 81, told a reporter she still had "a lot of time left." She died on May 5, 2016, at a nursing facility in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania.
FAQ
How many of Marie Noe's children died?
Ten of her children died between 1949 and 1968; she was charged with murder in connection with eight of those deaths.
Did Marie Noe go to prison?
No. Her plea agreement called for 20 years of probation, with the first five years under house arrest, in exchange for participation in a research study that ultimately never took place.
What led to the case being reopened?
A 1998 investigative article in Philadelphia magazine, "Cradle to Grave" by journalist Stephen Fried, prompted police to question her for the first time in decades.