Attic room
The investigation revealed that the accused tried to conceal her pregnancy. Friends and colleagues in particular confronted the nursing student with her round belly, but the Portuguese continued to deny it. Ultimately, she secretly gave birth in the cold attic room of her aunt and uncle’s home, with whom she moved in when she was twelve. According to her own words, the accused was afraid that she would be put out on the street. On the other hand, she has always denied that she deliberately killed her daughter.
The judgment noted that Claudia DC herself decided to give birth in a dark, unheated attic without any assistance. Her training as a nurse and healthcare professional was also mentioned. The accused noticed that her daughter was not breathing, not crying and not moving, but did not take any initiative to resuscitate the victim. Moreover, she did not cut and tie off the umbilical cord.
Smothering as a cause of death
The court and jury then referred to the findings of the medical doctors in their reasons. Preciosa turned out to be a normally built, viable and full-term baby. The air in her lungs, stomach and small intestine showed that she had lived for at least six to twelve minutes. During the investigation, the medical examiners stated that hypothermia or bleeding through the umbilical cord are possible causes of death. However, at the hearing, DC stated that she put the baby with placenta in the garbage bag after fifteen minutes. “In those circumstances, two causes could no longer be retained according to the medical doctors,” said chairman Antoon Boyen. This left only throttling as a possible cause of death.
In addition, it was noted that the Portuguese had no intention of keeping her child alive. Not only did she carefully hide the pregnancy, but she also did not buy any clothes or care products. At the time of her arrest, DC had not even chosen a name. According to the court and the jurors, the child was unwanted because the accused was still a student, because her relationship had come to an end and because it was contrary to the cultural rules within her family. DC also continued to live her life as if her unborn child did not exist. She participated in a sports day, continued to go out and treated corona patients during her internship. “She kept putting off the choice of the solution, which made the problem increasingly bigger for her.”
No forethought
According to the jury members, there was no doubt whatsoever about the intention to kill. “It has been established that Claudia DC killed her daughter Preciosa with the intention of killing her shortly after birth,” it said. On the other hand, the popular jury saw no objective elements that point towards premeditation. As a result, the accused did not risk life imprisonment.