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Mother Kills Her Five Children
A mother slashed the throats of her five children before trying to commit suicide in the Belgian town of Nivelles yesterday, police said.
Police officers and emergency workers were treated for psychological trauma after finding the children's bodies and their injured mother Geneviève Lhermitte, 51, at their family home.
The girls Yasmine,14, Nora, 12, Myriam, 10, Mina, 8, and a boy Mehdi, 3, had all been "killed with a knife" and the mother had called the emergency services after an apparent attempt to kill herself with the same weapon.
Police found all the children upstairs, lying on a bed. Local reports said there were signs of resistance from Yasmine.
Some crime scene investigators speculated that the children may have been drugged before being killed. They attended a local Catholic school.
The children's father, Bouchaib Mokadem, was not in Belgium at the time of the killings but was told of the tragedy by police officers at Brussels-National airport yesterday evening. He is being treated for shock and psychological distress.
The mother, said to be receiving treatment for depression, is currently in a serious condition, but out of danger.
The killings have shaken Belgium. Pierre Huart, the mayor of Nivelles, a town with a population of 25,000 about 20 miles from Brussels, said: "The children were all at school and the father had a good job.
"There is nothing to explain this tragedy,"
Bernard Goethals, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office in Nivelles, said the woman had "mentioned her plan" in a letter addressed to a friend in the town — a suicide note that had been delivered after the deaths.
'We Can Hardly Believe It'
A woman in Belgium has killed her five children before trying to commit suicide.
Genevieve Lhermitte is out of danger in hospital after murdering daughters Yasmine,14, Nora, 12, Myriam, 10, Mina, 8, and her son Mehdi, 3.
All were "killed with a knife", police said, and Mrs Lhermitte called emergency services after an apparent attempt to kill herself with the same weapon.
Police officers and emergency workers were treated for psychological trauma after finding the children's bodies at the family home in the town of Nivelles.
A note scrawled on the door of the house read "Call the police, urgent".
The children were lying upstairs on a bed and there are reports that they may have been drugged.
Locals said they could not understand the motive behind the killings, though Mrs Lhermitte is thought to have been receiving treatment for depression.
One local woman said: "The family seemed to be so happy together we can hardly believe it."
Bernard Goethals, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office in Nivelles, said the woman had "mentioned her plan" in a letter addressed to a friend in the town.
However, it was not received until after the tragedy had taken place.
The mayor, Pierre Huart, said: "The children were all at school and the father had a good job. There is nothing to explain this tragedy,"
The children's father, Bouchaib Mokadem, was not in Belgium at the time of the killings and is now being treated for shock and psychological distress.
Nivelles, around 20 miles south of Brussels, has a population of 25,000 people.
Police officers and emergency workers were treated for psychological trauma after finding the children's bodies and their injured mother Geneviève Lhermitte, 51, at their family home.
The girls Yasmine,14, Nora, 12, Myriam, 10, Mina, 8, and a boy Mehdi, 3, had all been "killed with a knife" and the mother had called the emergency services after an apparent attempt to kill herself with the same weapon.
Police found all the children upstairs, lying on a bed. Local reports said there were signs of resistance from Yasmine.
Some crime scene investigators speculated that the children may have been drugged before being killed. They attended a local Catholic school.
The children's father, Bouchaib Mokadem, was not in Belgium at the time of the killings but was told of the tragedy by police officers at Brussels-National airport yesterday evening. He is being treated for shock and psychological distress.
The mother, said to be receiving treatment for depression, is currently in a serious condition, but out of danger.
The killings have shaken Belgium. Pierre Huart, the mayor of Nivelles, a town with a population of 25,000 about 20 miles from Brussels, said: "The children were all at school and the father had a good job.
"There is nothing to explain this tragedy,"
Bernard Goethals, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office in Nivelles, said the woman had "mentioned her plan" in a letter addressed to a friend in the town — a suicide note that had been delivered after the deaths.
'We Can Hardly Believe It'
A woman in Belgium has killed her five children before trying to commit suicide.
Genevieve Lhermitte is out of danger in hospital after murdering daughters Yasmine,14, Nora, 12, Myriam, 10, Mina, 8, and her son Mehdi, 3.
All were "killed with a knife", police said, and Mrs Lhermitte called emergency services after an apparent attempt to kill herself with the same weapon.
Police officers and emergency workers were treated for psychological trauma after finding the children's bodies at the family home in the town of Nivelles.
A note scrawled on the door of the house read "Call the police, urgent".
The children were lying upstairs on a bed and there are reports that they may have been drugged.
Locals said they could not understand the motive behind the killings, though Mrs Lhermitte is thought to have been receiving treatment for depression.
One local woman said: "The family seemed to be so happy together we can hardly believe it."
Bernard Goethals, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office in Nivelles, said the woman had "mentioned her plan" in a letter addressed to a friend in the town.
However, it was not received until after the tragedy had taken place.
The mayor, Pierre Huart, said: "The children were all at school and the father had a good job. There is nothing to explain this tragedy,"
The children's father, Bouchaib Mokadem, was not in Belgium at the time of the killings and is now being treated for shock and psychological distress.
Nivelles, around 20 miles south of Brussels, has a population of 25,000 people.
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