A mother who murdered her five children has been euthanised at her own request — 16 years to the day after their killing.
Genevieve Lhermitte, 56, slit the throats of her son and four daughters, aged three to 14, with a kitchen knife at the family home in Nivelles, Belgium, while their father was away.
Devastated Bouchaib Moqadem was visiting his parents in Morocco when his wife turned on their children.
On the day of the murders, Lhermitte stole two knives from a supermarket before cooking a family lunch, The Sun reported.
Tragic youngsters Yasmine, 14, Nora, 12, Myriam, 10, Mina, seven and Mehdi, three, were killed in the attack.
She then tried to kill herself, but the attempt failed and she ended up calling the emergency services.
Lhermitte was sentenced to life in prison in 2008, before being moved to a psychiatric hospital in 2019.
She told the court during her murder trial: “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.”
Her lawyer Nicolas Cohen confirmed that his client had died through euthanasia on February 28.
Mr Cohen said: “It is this specific procedure that Mrs Lhermitte followed, with the various medical opinions having been collected.”
Belgian law allows for people to choose euthanasia if they are deemed to be suffering from “unbearable” psychological suffering.
The person must be conscious of their decision and be able to express their wish in a reasoned and consistent manner.
Psychologist Emilie Maroit told the RTL-TVI channel that Lhermitte likely chose to die on February 28 in a “symbolic gesture in respect for her children”.
She added: “It may also have been for her to finish what she started because basically she wanted to end her life when she killed them.”
The quintuple murder in 2007 and the subsequent trial rocked Belgium.
Lhermitte‘s lawyers argued that their client, who had regularly seen a psychiatrist, was mentally disturbed and should not be sent to prison.
But the jury found her guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced her to life in jail after hearing conflicting medical expertise.
In 2010 Lhermitte filed a civil lawsuit demanding up to £2.7million (A$2.79m) from a former psychiatrist alleging his “inaction” had failed to prevent the murders, but she ended up abandoning the legal battle after ten years without success.
Last year 2,966 people died via euthanasia in Belgium, an increase of 10 per cent compared to 2021, according to the authorities.
Cancer remains the number one reason cited, but officials said for nearly three out of four requests the patient presented “several types of suffering, both physical and psychological”.
This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission
