German mother is suspected to have killed five of her six children before throwing herself in front of a train

The call came into police in Solingen, Germany at about 2 pm Thursday, September 3 which led them to a gruesome discovery inside of a third floor apartment.

At approximately the same time, the fire department was responding to a call of an injured woman, identified only as 27-year-old Christiane K, between two railway tracks at Düsseldorf Central Station.  She is under police protection at the hospital and reported by Bild to be in serious condition and unresponsive at this time.

Within the apartment police found the bodies of five children, three girls and two boys reported to be one, two, three, six, and eight years old.

The eldest boy, 11-year-old Marcel was placed on the train to his grandmother in Mönchengladbach and did not witness his mother's suicide attempt at the Düsseldorf Central Station.  It is the grandmother that alerted local police.

Police spokesman Stefan Weiand is quoted by WDR as stating, "We assume a criminal offense and will have to question the mother about it.  At the moment she is not yet able to be questioned."  When asked to elaborate further about whether the mother had poisoned her children he said, "We don't yet know what exactly happened when and why, only that it is a very tragic situation."

Autopsies will determine cause and manor of death, and police are still working to determine a motive.  Police have refused to comment about whether or not it appears as though she poisoned her children, stating instead that "It is still being investigated."

Allegedly the father of the younger children had attempted suicide in April which Christiane was able to stop.  In the aftermath, Bild reports that police offered assistance but were turned down.  A local youth welfare office was additionally said to be involved in the matter according to a neighbor.

Police stated that they have made contact with the father of the children but did not give any further comment.