life sentence required against a mother for the murder of her two children

This Friday, life imprisonment, with a safety period of 22 years, was requested against Ingride Jesus Van Der Kellen for the murder of her two young children in 2022, at the Meurthe-et-Moselle assizes. “In matters of infanticide, it is a sentence that must be considered”estimates General Advocate Elsa Pincet, who indicates that she is requesting this heavy sentence for the first time in her career. “This is normal for infanticide, and even more so for double infanticide!” “A child is not supposed to remain a child forever (…) and yet Emma will never be three years old, Edwin will never walk”underlines the general advocate.

Why did Ingride Jesus Van Der Kellen take action? Elsa Pincet admits two hypotheses: the mother intended to commit suicide and not abandon her children, or thus wanted to reach their father. The general advocate then engages in a demonstration at the end of which she decides: “The moment she kills her children, she wins”believing that the accused was trying to make Jean, her companion, suffer. The act is part of criminal logic, according to the public prosecutor, who does not support the abolition or alteration of discernment.

History

On Thursday, psychiatric experts gave opposing opinions on the accused, a 37-year-old former researcher with a doctorate in science. One of the psychiatrists believed that his discernment was abolished at the time of the act, which the second expert contested. On February 15, 2022, the accused was arrested while driving by the gendarmes, when she had just strangled her two children aged nine months and two and a half years, picked up at midday from daycare.

Previously, she had tried to knock out her partner with a hammer, after he had announced his intention to leave the family home with the children due to the mother’s alcoholism. Very psychologically fragile, the accused burst into tears regularly throughout the proceedings. Claiming to want to commit suicide, she was unable to complete her interrogation on Wednesday. Caregivers had to intervene and administer a sedative. His ex-companion came to testify on Tuesday. “I miss my children, every day”he declared, his features marked. Over the past two years, he has lost 15 kilos and abandoned his thesis. The verdict is expected Friday afternoon.