A 4-year-old child died of strangulation on Friday, November 19 in the Doubs and his mother, who spontaneously accused herself of the murder, was taken to the psychiatric emergency room after having held a "
mystical speech
", announced the Besançon prosecutor's office.
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Following the report of a schoolboy, the 4-year-old child and his mother, aged 35, were discovered by the gendarmerie in the early morning in a ditch in Corcondray, a small town in the Doubs where they lived. The child presented "
traces of trauma on the face and traces of strangulations at the level of the neck
", declared the public prosecutor of Besançon, Étienne Manteaux, during a press conference.
Supported by the emergency services, the child was transferred to the Besançon CHU, where he died in the morning.
The autopsy concluded in "
death from asphyxiation following strangulation,
" said Étienne Manteaux.
During the night, the mother had come to several inhabitants of the village with the child, in pajamas and barefoot.
She had refused to enter their home and left with her son in tears, in the cold and the fog.
The father in custody
The 35-year-old father was taken into custody, while the mother,
whose
behavior "
particularly agitated
" according to the prosecutor, was quickly referred to a forensic institute where a doctor deemed her condition "
incompatible.
»With an audition in custody.
In front of the doctor, the mother spontaneously made "
rather delusional remarks, with a mystical connotation
", reported Étienne Manteaux.
She said in particular "
that her child was the devil and that she had strangled
", detailed the prosecutor, who stressed that these "
spontaneous statements were not made in an investigation
".
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The mother was then taken to a psychiatric emergency room for an assessment of her state of health, which will determine her capacity to be "
presented to an investigating magistrate
".
“
At this time, I have no element suggesting that the gentleman played a role in the injuries sustained by the child,
” added Étienne Manteaux.
According to the neighborhood survey carried out by the gendarmerie, no report of psychiatric problems had been recorded concerning this woman, described as "
jovial and impulsive
" by her neighbors, and "
capable of excesses which had worried
", according to Étienne Manteaux.
The investigations were entrusted to the Besançon gendarmerie company.