Woman from Deerlijk charged with murder of two children and attempted murder of infant
A 35-year-old woman from Deerlijk is charged with the murder of her two eldest children and attempted murder of her five-week-old baby.
Murder of children in Deerlijk: 35-year-old mother charged
A 35-year-old woman from Deerlijk, in West Flanders, has been charged with the murder of her two children and attempted murder of a third, according to DHnet citing news publications Het Nieuwsblad and Het Belang van Limburg.
The initial incidents date back to 2014 and 2015. The suspect had then lost two young children — a girl at seven months old and a boy of a few weeks old. In the press, she had explained these deaths as a "rare genetic anomaly, preventing the transmission of signals from the heart to the brain and causing cardiac arrest".
In March last, the woman was again admitted to hospital with a five-week-old infant presenting respiratory difficulties. Doctors could provide no clear medical explanation for the child's condition or establish what had occurred at the family home.
Faced with these doubts, a doctor alerted the judicial authorities. The West Flanders public prosecutor's office confirmed to Nieuwsblad that an investigation is underway. One central element drew the attention of investigators: the third child, born through in vitro fertilisation using the egg of the suspect's partner, has no genetic link with the suspect. The genetic anomaly cited for the two earlier deaths could therefore in no way apply to this infant.
The mother was placed under arrest warrant and charged with murder for the 2014 and 2015 incidents, as well as attempted murder for the 2025 incidents. She is currently under house arrest with electronic surveillance and denies all the charges against her.
Source: DHnet