Life sentence confirmed for murder of a girl
Published: Monday, Mar 11th 2024, 12:10
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The conviction of a young woman to life imprisonment for the murder of a two-and-a-half-year-old child is final. The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the woman's appeal against the judgment of the Fribourg judiciary.
The crime took place in November 2018 in Vuadens FR in the apartment that the child's father shared with the convicted woman. He had separated from the child's mother and the child spent the weekends with him. During the time of the crime, he performed as a DJ at a party.
The experts found that the complainant, who was 24 years old at the time of the crime, did not have a mental illness. Her crime was due to increasing frustration in her relationship with her partner. Because of the girl, she felt she had to give up her freedoms, according to a ruling by the Federal Supreme Court published on Monday. The convicted woman had always denied the crime.
In the victim's room
According to the Federal Supreme Court, the recording of the young woman's movements by a health app installed on her smartphone is not absolutely reliable. Nevertheless, on the basis of this and other data, the lower court was entitled to conclude that the woman was in the girl's room at the time of the crime.
The convicts' hypothesis that a third party had suffocated the child with a pillow was not tenable. The traces of the blows, the tuft of hair in the victim's mouth and the messy stuffed animals were evidence of a loud struggle. The complainant should have heard something. The app showed that she had not been deeply asleep at the time.
The careful assessment of the cantonal court, which was supported by many references to the evidence gathered, could not be described as arbitrary. The killing could be classified as murder because the motive, the purpose and the conduct were particularly heinous. (Judgment 6B_1126/2023 of 24.1.2024)
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