Location Nivelles, Belgium | ||
The Lhermitte case or Geneviève Lhermitte case is a criminal case of infanticide which happened in Belgium in 2007.
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Description
The February 28, 2007, in Nivelles, a housewife, Geneviève Lhermitte, slaughtered her five children using a knife while her husband travelled abroad. Then, Lhermitte attempted to commit suicide, without success. She is condemned to life imprisonment. Her lawyers however filed a recourse before the European Court of Human Rights invoking a violation of the section 6 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. While the recourse was rejected by the Court in May 2015, the panel of five judges designated by the Great Office decided that the Great Office had to be hearing the case.
Under psychological care, she explained her actions by difficulties in her household, especially the presence of a third party who lived a part of the week with the family and financially met their needs.