Mother Confesses to Starving Her Child
August 30, 2005The mother of seven-year-old Jessica, who was starved to death, has admitted to a Hamburg court that she caused her own child's death. When asked by one of the judges what she had done wrong, the 36-year-old said: "Everything." Jessica's horrific death shocked the country earlier this year. When police found her body in March, she weighed just 21 pounds. Her mother told the court that after a crisis in her relationship, she left the child alone for long periods of time, locked in her room, in order to spend time at a local bar. Later, the mother and her 49-year-old partner decided to let the child die, keeping her as a virtual prisoner in a dark room without food and drink. The two adults now face charges of negligent homicide and abuse of a person in their care.