A court in Germany has handed down a harsh sentence to a 30-year-old man who attempted to murder his 1-year-old daughter by injecting mercury into her foot. The man's girlfriend, aged 34, was also sentenced to 12 years in prison for her involvement in the crime.
The incident took place in the town of Springe near Hannover, where the man sought revenge on the child's mother who had left him shortly after their daughter's birth. The father and his girlfriend conspired to inflict severe pain on the toddler, knowing that the poison would not lead to immediate death.
Following the injection, the young girl developed a severe infection in her foot and a rash all over her body. The presence of mercury in her system was discovered by chance during a subsequent surgery related to the poisoning.
Initially, both defendants denied the charges brought against them in court. However, as the trial neared its end, they confessed to injecting mercury into the child's left foot and right ankle in July of last year.
The source of the liquid mercury used in the crime remains unclear. The defendants have the option to appeal the court's ruling, though their names and the identity of the victim have been withheld in accordance with German privacy laws.
