A mother has been sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison over the murder and attempted murder of her two sons.
The 42-year-old mother from Co. Antrim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced at Belfast Crown Court today, Tuesday, December 13th.
It was heard that the woman stabbed her two sons, aged two years and ten months and eleven months, at a house outside Larne, Co. Antrim in March 2020.
ITV News reports that the mother initially pleaded not guilty to the charges but changed her plea to that of diminished responsibility in early 2022.
On describing the horrific actions of the mother, the court heard that the woman placed pain patches on both children before "savagely" attacking them with a knife.
Police and ambulance service people on arrival observed lacerations to the chest and neck of both children.
The older boy was pronounced dead later that morning, while the baby survived following a number of emergency operations.
Presiding Judge Patricia Smyth recognised that the mother had a personality disorder but expressed that it was the opinion of medical experts that the disorder was "possible but not a likely" cause for the attack.
The Judge also dismissed claims from the defence that the mother had been subject to emotional abuse from the children's father. "On the contrary, there is an abundance of evidence that it was you who exercised coercion and control", noted the judge.
A automatic life sentence of 20 years was imposed on the mother.
