A 27-year-old mom is believed to have burned her 2-year-old daughter alive, and our hearts are breaking. The woman, whose name has not been revealed, was arrested in Belgium on Sept. 24 amid fears that she murdered her child as part of a suicide bid, according to Dutch publication HLN. Police were called after neighbors saw smoke coming from the garage of the home where the woman was staying. On top of that, onlookers heard a girl screaming inside! When police arrived on the scene, what they saw was shocking.
Authorities found the woman literally cooking the body of her daughter on a charcoal grill. The child’s remains were almost fully charred. While officers did reportedly see the mother in action, burning her daughter, they’re now investigating whether she cooked the tot alive or if she killed her first and then tried to burn her body. Even more chilling is what the mother allegedly told police when they arrested her. “We both had to burn. That was the only way we could go to heaven together,” she reportedly said.
The woman had apparently been depressed for quite a while after going through a divorce, according to HLN, who spoke to neighbors. The home she was living in was reportedly her mom’s, but the older woman was reportedly not home at the time the crime was committed. An autopsy on the young girl has already been performed, however, the prosecutor’s office of Halle-Vilvoorde has yet to make the results public.
Speaking with psychiatrist Hans Hellebuyck, the publication noted it’s very possible the woman is mentally ill. The expert said that it’s “hard to estimate” what exactly goes through peoples’ minds in tragic cases like this. He also said that if the mom really did say she started the fire for her daughter to get into heaven, that could definitely be a sign that psychiatric problems exist. “If the woman made such remarks and truly meant them, it is possible that she is mentally ill. I am not saying it is like that, but it is something which has to be taken into account,” he said.
Tell us, HollywoodLifers — what do you think of this horrific alleged crime?