The prosecution and the Generalitat’s legal team, acting as private prosecutors, have revised their initial charges against a 34-year-old woman who admitted to strangling her 2-year-old son in Bigastro in June 2022. Following the defence’s arguments, they now recognize the mitigating factor of the accused’s long-standing drug addiction.
The prosecution has also acknowledged mitigating circumstances, including the defendant’s confession and delays in the judicial process. This shift came after expert testimony revealed the extent of the accused’s mental health struggles. A forensic psychologist testified that the defendant suffered from a split personality disorder exacerbated by substance abuse, impairing her ability to make rational decisions during the incident.
Drug Addiction and Mental Health Issues
The forensic expert described the accused as a drug addict with a history of consuming cocaine, opiates, cannabis, and alcohol over more than a decade. This prolonged substance abuse likely affected her impulse control and rational decision-making. According to the expert, the woman’s actions resulted from a “cocktail of drug addiction and mental health problems,” which impaired her judgment at the time of the crime.
The defendant had confessed to abusing her twin boys and ultimately killing one, Daniel, by strangulation. The jury is not tasked with determining her guilt, as she admitted to the murder during the trial’s opening session. Instead, the debate centres on whether her drug addiction should be considered a mitigating factor in the crime.
See Also: Bigastro woman arrested for murder of 2 year old son
Legal Perspectives
The prosecutor, while accepting the mitigating factor of drug addiction, argued that the defendant was still conscious of her actions. “It is not about whether the defendant is evil but whether she committed the act knowingly,” the prosecutor stated, adding that the defendant understood that strangling her son would result in his death.
Defence attorney José Luis Sánchez Calvo, however, argued that his client’s severe addiction caused significant impairments in her ability to control impulses. “Her will was impaired, and she was not fully aware of her actions, either due to drug consumption or withdrawal syndrome,” the lawyer stated.
Impact on Victim’s Twin
The prosecution acting on behalf of Daniel’s surviving twin highlighted the psychological trauma caused by the abuse. Evidence presented during the trial revealed that the boy feared his mother so deeply that, on the day of the murder, he clung to a forensic pathologist and refused to return to her.
Jury’s Decision
The trial now hinges on whether the jury accepts drug addiction as a mitigating factor. The prosecution has acknowledged that while the defendant’s will may have been impaired, it was not entirely annulled. The defence maintains that her long-standing addiction severely impacted her mental state and capacity for rational decision-making, urging the jury to consider this when deliberating on the case.
The case serves as a tragic exploration of how substance abuse and mental health issues can intersect with violent crime, leaving the jury with a complex decision about the degree of culpability in this devastating incident.
