A mother has been jailed for life for killing five of her children after she saw a photo of her husband with his new partner.
The 28-year-old, who is known by the name Christiane K, is said to have suffocated or strangled her five youngest children in her apartment in Solingen, Germany, on September 3, 2020.The district court of Wuppertal heard she drugged Melina, one, Leonie, two, Sophie, three, Timo, six, and eight-year-old Luca before either drowning or suffocating them in the bathtub.
After she carried out the murders she wrapped their bodies in towels and placed them in their beds.
Her eldest son, who was 11 at the time, survived as he was away from home at the time.
Detectives claim she murdered her children after seeing the photo of her husband with a new partner at his side.
She messaged her husband to tell him he would not see his children again before she carried out the harrowing murders.Christiane K. threw herself in front of a train in Düsseldorf Central Station to kill herself, but she survived.
Psychiatric and psychological experts appointed by the court found no evidence that she had a serious mental disorder at the time.
The court heard she claimed that a stranger broke into her home, handcuffed her, forced her to type the chat messages to her husband before killing her children.
The court heard more than 40 witnesses during 20 days of the trial before Christiane K. was found guilty and handed down a life sentence.
Her surviving son is believed to be under the care of his grandmother.