A 31-year-old woman was sentenced to life in prison on Monday in Austria for suffocating her three children from an arranged marriage under a pillow in October, the court heard.
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The accused had admitted her crime and had justified her gesture by her desire to "go to heaven" with her two daughters, aged 9 and 3, as well as with her eight-month-old son, who were killed before she then tried. without success in ending his life.
The verdict was delivered at first instance and the defense lawyer said she was going to bring an action for annulment as well as an appeal.
She believes that her client, born in Nepal and suffering from psychiatric disorders, was not responsible for her actions.
On October 17, 2020, the three minors were suffocated under a pillow in Vienna, while they were sleeping.
The autopsy revealed that the eldest child had struggled.
After killing the children, the woman tried to slit her wrists and then drank dewormer, before calling the police herself at dawn.
During the investigation, the woman who arrived in Austria in 2010 on a student visa to conclude an arranged marriage, explained that she had not been happy with her life and wanted to "take her children to death with her".
Her husband, 13 years older than her, had been considered a "good match" in Nepal because he had managed to get to Europe, according to statements by the prosecutor, repeated by the Austrian news agency APA.
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After a physical altercation on September 30, the husband was expelled by the police and was subject to a deportation order, for a period of 14 days.
The psychiatric examination had concluded that the woman was responsible for her actions despite a mental illness.
The prosecution had, in addition to the conviction of the accused, requested that she be placed in a prison for detainees with mental disorders.
The court granted this request.