Investigators in northern France dug up the remains of eight infants in a garden, after a tip from the new owner of a house, justice sources said Wednesday.

The grisly find came after the new home owner in the town of Douai, some 150 km north of Paris, discovered some bones in the garden and alerted police.

Investigators then turned up the remains of eight infants in two different locations. The suspected parents of the babies were then taken into police custody.

The Douia prosecutor is to issue a statement on the find Thursday, the justice sources said.

The find recalls a case from three years ago when the corpses of six infants were found in a cellar of a house in France. The mother later admitted to having killed the babies.