This came to light during his testimony at the court in Diekirch during the second day of a trial for a mother accused of killing her six month old son in November 2015.
The autopsy had shown bruising around the neck, indicating that the boy had likely not drowned in the White Ernz, the river where his body was found, but had been suffocated to death.
According to the medical examiner, not much force is necessary to block the airways of a small child. Having also examined the mother, who displayed knife wounds on her stomach that looked self-inflicted, the examiner said he could not speculate on whether she had really tried to take her own life.
Asked by the accused's lawyer, Trixi Lanners, whether the anticoagulants the mother was taking could have caused a fatal haemorrhage, the expert replied that it might have led to faster blood loss, but that a haemorrhage due to a stomach injury was not that likely.
A psychologist explained that the accused had been struggling to develop maternal feelings towards her son, especially following her stroke.
She subsequently suffered from depression and delusions. Everything became too much, especially her son, whom she saw as the cause of her health decline. She developed a form of hate towards the child, culminating in the tragic killing.
The president of the Court asked if this could be considered not an illness, but a psychotic breakdown. The psychologist responded that this should be asked of a neuropsychiatric expert. The stroke may well have been the source of the psychosis, he said, but admitted having no direct experience in this field.
The trial will continue on Friday.
