VIENNA: An Austrian court has sentenced a 33-year-old mother and her former girlfriend for the attempted murder of the woman’s 12-year-old son, reported German news agency (dpa).
The Krems District Court sentenced the mother to 20 years in prison, and the 40-year-old co-defendant to 14 years in prison. Both women were to be placed in a psychiatric facility.
The eight jurors deliberated for around seven hours before reaching their verdict.
The mother was found guilty of attempted murder, torturing or neglecting a minor and deprivation of liberty.
Her former girlfriend, who is said to have given orders for the abuse of the boy, was prosecuted for instigating, aiding and abetting the continued use of violence. She was accused of spurring on the offences with numerous instructions.
The judge said that the lengthy sentences were due to the fact that the accused had almost destroyed a life with their actions and psychologically destroyed the boy.
Among other things, the 33-year-old had bound and gagged her son, starved him and poured cold water over him in freezing room temperatures. She had also locked him in a dog crate for hours at a time on several occasions.
On admission to hospital, the severely emaciated child had a body temperature of just under 27 degrees Celsius and was in a comatose state. The defendant also recorded her son’s ordeal in several videos.
She told the court that she wanted to raise her allegedly aggressive and rebellious son to be a well-behaved child. However, she denied intent to murder.
The fact that the child’s torment ended at all is thanks to the intervention of a social worker.
The two women must also jointly pay the child a total of €80,000 (US$85,500). -Bernama-dpa
