German police came across a horrible scene Sunday night as they discovered the bodies of three infants hidden inside a basement freezer.

The discovery was made in the town of Wenden, near Olpe, in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The police officers immediately issued a warrant and arrested the mother of the three children.

According to the Associated Press, Johannes Daheim, spokesman for prosecutors investigating the case, said that the three infants were believed to have been born alive but the autopsy results are needed in order to have confirmation and also start building the case against the 44-year-old mother.

"I've been mayor for 14 years, and this is definitely the worst day I've seen," Peter Brueser told the Associated Press. "We will need a long time here to work through this."

Many such terrible events have been appearing in the country, especially in the poor eastern regions. Authorities have attempted to find a solution, but their efforts are outnumbered. Some medical facilities in Germany came up with the idea to install several hatches where mothers can leave their newborns anonymously.

The case reminded people about a truly disturbed woman from the eastern town of Brieskow-Finkenheerd, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison after killing eight of her babies. After that, she hid them all over her property, burying the bodies in flower pots and buckets.

The ongoing investigation is expected to detail the course of events and also the mother’s motivations for such a horrible crime.