A 42 year-old-woman who allegedly threw her 5-year-old son from the balcony of their fifth-floor apartment in Zuptphen last November has fronted the court.
According to RTL Nieuws, the prosecutor argued Adriana P. was entirely under the influence of a mental disorder at the time.
Her lawyer is pushing for acquittal, or TBS, claiming that while she committed the act, her disorder makes her not punishable for it.
Some offenders have reduced responsibility due to psychiatric or personality disorders. To protect society, they can instead receive a terbeschikkingstelling (TBS) sentence. This alternative to prison gives them psychiatric help with the intention of helping them re-enter society.
A miracle survival
The boy fell about 15 metres, suffering a collapsed lung and other injuries, but was discharged from the hospital just days later. He is now living with a foster family.
Speaking to RTL Nieuws, the prosecutor describes his mother as a ”woman with two faces. ” — battling schizophrenia, PTSD, and substance abuse, yet still caring for her son.
Seeing a risk of the incident repeating, the court ruled that long-term treatment was necessary, imposing TBS with conditions.
Mental health at the centre of the case
P. told the court she acted under instructions from voices in her head and was in a trance-like state at the time of the incident.
”I took him in my arms and said, ‘The time has come Marwan,’ I gave him lots of kisses and then I let him fly. I said, ‘Fly up like a butterfly.”’
Police had visited her apartment about an hour earlier after hearing her screaming from the balcony, but left when she calmed down; an hour later, she allegedly threw her son off the balcony and confessed to police.
Her lawyer argued for acquittal, saying headlines risk painting a false picture of a violent mother. If found guilty, he urged for conditional TBS.
In her closing words, P. told the court she wants to recover and be ”a healthy mother” to her son. The court’s final verdict is expected on August 28.
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