Bremgarten: Egiosm versus love as motivation to kill
Published: Tuesday, Sep 10th 2024, 18:20
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Two completely different motivations for the killing of a disabled toddler in May 2020 were explained in the Bremgarten AG district court on Tuesday. The prosecution spoke of selfishness and unscrupulousness, the defense of love and powerlessness.
It is undisputed that on the evening of May 6, 2020, a severely cerebrally disabled three-year-old girl was drugged with ecstasy by her parents in Hägglingen AG and then suffocated by covering her airways.
The prosecution and defense presented diametrically opposed versions of how the now 32-year-old mother and 34-year-old father came to commit the crime. The verdict will be opened on Friday.
Prosecutor: "Child was a nuisance to them"
For the public prosecutor, the child, who needed intensive care around the clock, had become a nuisance to the parents and they had wanted to get rid of it. They had acted out of blatant selfishness. They had acted unscrupulously and cruelly.
According to the prosecutor, the child would have had the opportunity to improve his condition. However, the parents had not wanted certain measures to be taken. They had also refused to place the child in the care of professionals.
As part of her plea, the prosecutor presented photos of a laughing girl. And she showed excerpts from aggressive chats and wiretap transcripts of spiteful conversations between the parents.
The public prosecutor demanded a conviction for murder and a sentence of 18 years imprisonment each. In addition, the accused, who are from Germany, should be deported from the country for 15 years each.
"All parents take photos in happy moments"
For the parents' defense lawyers, neither the photos nor the chats or logs proved anything. The parents had been under stress, which sometimes leads to abusive behavior.
There were definitely happy moments in the family. The photos were taken at such moments. All the parents photographed their children in happy moments and not when they were screaming in pain or suffering cramps.
In her presentation, the accuser had omitted what did not fit in with her theories. For example, she had concealed statements by the doctors who believed that the child could make small progress - but that overall it would be plagued by pain, paralysis and cramps for the rest of its life and would require round-the-clock care.
In view of the child's suffering, for which they could have done nothing, the parents were desperate. In the end, they decided to save their child. They did this out of love and out of powerlessness.
Three years for manslaughter
They were neither selfish nor unscrupulous or cruel in their actions. There could be no question of murder. The parents had acted under the influence of a long-standing, severe emotional strain. They should be sentenced for manslaughter. A partial prison sentence of three years was appropriate in each case.
The father was also guilty of violating the Narcotics Act for procuring the ecstasy. A conditional fine of 20 daily rates was therefore appropriate. In view of the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons between Switzerland and Germany, no expulsions are necessary.
Acquittal for grandmother
The grandmother of the child is accused by the public prosecutor of being an accessory to murder. She is to be punished with five years' imprisonment and 15 years' deportation. She knew about the plan and encouraged her daughter and her boyfriend.
The 52-year-old's defense lawyer denied this. His client had known about the murder plan, but had advised against it. She should be acquitted in full.
In their closing words, the parents emphasized that they had released their daughter from her suffering out of love. The mother assured them that her mother, who had been accused of complicity, had nothing to do with the crime and that she had been against it. The father said in tears that he wanted to "dispel the insinuation" that they had "no desire for our daughter" and wanted her "out of the world".
©Keystone/SDA
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