Belgian murderer Genevieve Lhermitte, who made headlines in 2007 for murdering her five children, has been euthanised at her own request. After the gruesome incident, Lhermitte attempted to take her own life by stabbing herself but was unsuccessful.
Lhermitte, who was 40 years old at the time, had to call emergency services for help.
She was later charged with murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2008.
The lawyer of a 56-year-old woman confirmed that she had been euthanised on the sixteenth anniversary of the killings, as reported by Belgian media.
According to Sudinfo, a Belgian news site, her funeral was held the following day. On the day of the murders, the woman took two knives from a supermarket, cooked a family lunch, locked the front door, and proceeded to kill her children. She later testified at trial that she felt “desperate and trapped” at home with the children.
Lhermitte told the court: “I gave [my husband] a son and killed him. I’ve lost all children through my own fault. They never deserved it.
“I shall suffer to the end of my days – that is my punishment.”
On the sixteenth anniversary of the murders, the 56-year-old woman’s lawyer verified that she had been euthanased.
Her funeral was conducted the following day, according to the Belgian news website Sudinfo.
In Belgium, the law permits terminally ill patients with unbearable psychological suffering that cannot be treated to choose to end their lives.
Patients must be of sound mind and able to make rational and consistent decisions about their wish to die.
Lhermitte’s lawyer said: “It is this specific procedure that Mrs Lhermitte followed, with the various medical opinions having been collected.”
According to reports from Belgian media, Lhermitte passed away at Montigny-le-Tilleul’s Léonard de Vinci hospital
