Belgian mother who killed five children euthanised 16 years on

A Belgian woman who murdered her five children in a case that shocked the country has been euthanised at her own request, 16 years to the day after their killing, her lawyer said Thursday.

Genevieve Lhermitte slit the throats of her son and four daughters aged three to 14 with a kitchen knife at the family home in the town of Nivelles on February 28, 2007 while their father was away.

She then tried to commit suicide by stabbing herself, but the attempt failed and she ended up calling the emergency services.

Lhermitte was sentenced to life in prison in 2008, before being moved to a psychiatric hospital in 2019.

The 56-year-old's lawyer Nicolas Cohen confirmed to AFP reports in local media that his client had died through euthanasia on the sixteenth anniversary of the killings on Tuesday.

Belgian law allows for people to chose to be euthanised if they are deemed to be suffering from "unbearable" psychological, and not just physical, suffering that cannot be healed.

The person must be conscious of their decision and be able to express their wish in a reasoned and consistent manner.

"It is this specific procedure that Mrs Lhermitte followed, with the various medical opinions having been collected," her lawyer said.

Psychologist Emilie Maroit told the RTL-TVI channel that Lhermitte likely chose to die on February 28 in a "symbolic gesture in respect for her children".

"It may also have been for her to finish what she started because basically she wanted to end her life when she killed them," Maroit said.

The quintuple murder in 2007 and the subsequent trial rocked Belgium.

Lhermitte's lawyers argued that their client, who had regularly seen a psychiatrist, was mentally disturbed and should not be sent to prison.

But the jury found her guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced her to life in jail after hearing conflicting medical expertise.

In 2010 Lhermitte filed a civil lawsuit demanding up to three million euros ($3.18 million) from a former psychiatrist alleging his "inaction" had failed to prevent the murders, but she ended up abandoning the legal battle after ten years without success.

Last year 2,966 people died via euthanasia in Belgium, an increase of 10 percent compared to 2021, according to the authorities.

Cancer remains the number one reason cited, but officials said for nearly three out of four requests the patient presented "several types of suffering, both physical and psychological".

© 2023 AFP