Dubai: A woman who murdered her two-year-old stepson in Jordan after a brawl with her husband, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, local media reported.
Jordan’s Court of Cassation has upheld a November 2019 Criminal Court ruling sentencing the woman to 20 years in jail.
The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of murdering the child by placing placed him in a boiling water following a brawl with her husband in early October 2018 and handed her the maximum penalty.
According to court files, the defendant was asked by her husband to take care of his four-year-old and two-year-old children, from another woman he divorced.
“The defendant would often beat up the children and mistreat them,” court papers said.
On the day of the incident, October 1, the defendant engaged in “a heated argument” with her husband and decided to “take revenge by killing the victim”.
“The defendant prepared boiled water, poured it into the bathtub and placed the victim inside,” court documents said.
First-degree burns
The victim started screaming and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was admitted with first-degree burns, court papers added.
After two weeks, the child succumbed to burns at the hospital.
The defendant contested the verdict through her lawyer, arguing that she never confessed to murdering the victim.
“The court also depended on contradictory statements by some witnesses and the court cannot base its ruling on doubts,” the defence argued.
Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the 20-year sentence.
The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court proceedings had been accurate and that the defendant was given the appropriate punishment.