Remains of 2 girls found in freezer

Child-sized human remains uncovered in a basement freezer were those of two girls and had been there for months, their adoptive mother told investigators. Authorities said they thought the woman was responsible for the deaths.

Sheriff’s deputies were investigating an abuse complaint regarding a third, surviving child Saturday when they discovered the remains encased in ice. The mother told investigators that they had been in her southern Maryland home’s freezer for at least seven months, and police said they were considering the case a homicide.

The girl’s mother, 43-year-old Renee Bowman of Lusby, has been arrested, and a judge has ordered her held without bond. She is charged with first-degree child abuse in the beating of the surviving 7-year-old child.