A murder case unfolding in a Luxembourg court has heard how a woman poisoned her partner with a liqueur spiked with insecticide after proposing to him as a diversion, an act the judge later called unprecedentedly cold-blooded.

In the murder trial concerning a 2021 death in Portugal, the presiding judge described the planning as "unsurpassed in its cold-bloodedness." This statement came after the main defendant, identified as Ana*, detailed the methodical killing of her partner, Pedro.

According to Ana's testimony, the family arrived in Portugal on 1 August 2021. Two days later, after a day that included visiting a market and having a family dinner, the plot was set in motion. After the children went to bed, Pedro remained on the terrace.

Ana testified that her lover, Antonio, poured liqueur into shot glasses in the kitchen and added a poison – previously procured by a cousin under the guise of needing pesticide – to Pedro's glass. Ana claimed her mother, Mariana, acted as a lookout to ensure Pedro did not notice.

The glasses were then served on the terrace. "I sat down next to him and asked him if he would marry me", Ana told the court. A delighted Pedro toasted to the engagement and drank the poison.

After socialising for a short while, Pedro later developed stomach pains. Ana stated that she then made him a tisane, into which she added two sleeping pills.

When Pedro felt sick during the night, Ana and Mariana drove him to a river. Ana described the final moments: "I had a hand on him, we pushed him. We turned around and we left." The two women then returned home and went back to bed. "That is the truth", Ana concluded.

However, this account was directly challenged when the defendant's mother, Mariana, began her testimony. One of her first statements to the court was: "My daughter is lying."

*All names have been changed