Police in France say an American teenager could face life in prison or be cleared of killing her newborn, depending on her mental state, after she dropped a baby from a Paris hotel window.
AP News reports that the18-year-old, on a gap year with a Massachusetts-based program, allegedly threw a newborn out of a Ibis Styles hotel window on February 24 while the infant’s umbilical cord was still attached. Police found the body wrapped in a cloth inside a nearby trash can.
Officers took the woman into custody at a hospital after she underwent surgery.
Although police didn’t reveal the woman’s identity, DailyMail reports that she has been identified as Mia McQuillin, of Bend Oregon.
Prosecutors are investigating the case as a homicide. However, Paris child protection police are investigating whether the woman experienced pregnancy denial, a condition where she remains unaware of or in denial about her pregnancy.
“Whether she knew or not that she was pregnant could have an impact on her defense, as it would not place her in the same mental state at the time of event,” criminal defense lawyer Lois P. Lesot told People magazine.
Lesot’s partner, Avi Bitton, told the outlet that although rare, mental disorders, under French law, could potentially find the defendant not liable.
“I believe that the outcome of this case will depend on her mental state,” Bitton says. “Indeed, under French law, a person who, at the time of the events, was suffering from a mental or neuropsychiatric disorder which had abolished their discernment or control over their actions is not criminally liable.”
Police have disclosed little about the investigation but are expected to assess the woman’s mental health, interview witnesses, and conduct an autopsy on the infant, according to Bitton and Lesot.
Check back for updates.
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