Vincke then described his client as a friendly but vulnerable woman. “I didn’t have to think for a moment about taking on her defense in what may be a sad case.”
The defense acknowledged that the accused’s baby was viable and must have lived for at least a short time. “She gave birth all alone at night in a cold attic room. That is characteristic of her loneliness.” Under the guise of a holiday, the Portuguese moved in with her aunt and uncle at the age of 12. “It is not easy to be left behind by mother and father as a child.”