On Wednesday, a German court sentenced a 30-year-old father to 13 years in prison for attempted murder after injecting mercury into the foot of his 1-year-old daughter. The man’s girlfriend was sentenced to 12 years in jail for her involvement in the crime.
According to the German news agency DPA, the guy from the small town of Springe, near Hannover, wanted to get revenge on the child’s mother, who had abandoned him shortly after the girl was born.
According to the accusation, the father and his new girlfriend were aware that the poison would not result in death and intended to cause the toddler significant agony.
Following the injection, the daughter had a severe illness in her foot and a rash all over her body. The mercury in her body was discovered by chance during a third poisoning-related surgery, according to dpa.
Both the father and his 34-year-old girlfriend first rejected the allegation in a Hannover court, but soon before the trial finished, the couple acknowledged to injecting mercury into the girl’s left foot and right ankle last July, according to dpa.
It is unclear where they obtained the liquid mercury.
The defendants may appeal the decision. In accordance with German privacy policy, the defendants’ and victim’s identities were not revealed.