The district court of Münster has sentenced a 19-year-old to six years of juvenile detention because she gave her three-month-old son a deadly medication cocktail. She was convicted of manslaughter.
An overdose of sleeping pills and residues of an antidepressant and a cough suppressant had been found in the baby's blood. The baby had fallen asleep after the medication and did not wake up again.
The judges were convinced in their judgment that the accused at least accepted the death of their child in Wadersloh in the Münsterland. She had wanted to immobilize her baby a year ago because she wanted to drive to her boyfriend. "The appointment with her new boyfriend was more important to her than the life of her child," said Judge Michael Beier.
The corpse's autopsy revealed that the drug cocktail administered to the child would have been life-threatening for adults. The dose of hypnotics alone was 20 times higher.
The defendant itself had always denied a killing intent. "She did not want the death of her child," said her defender. The lawyer had pleaded for acquittal or a conviction for negligent homicide.