Woman suspected in matricide to undergo psychiatric evaluation

AMMAN — The Criminal Court prosecutor on Wednesday decided to refer a 36-year-old divorced woman, who was charged last week with the premeditated murder of her mother in Hashemi Shamali neighbourhood, for mental evaluation, official sources said.

The suspect allegedly stabbed her 65-year-old mother once in the chest while in her room with a long kitchen knife following an argument last week.

“We interviewed witnesses and concluded that the woman was being treated for mental problems,” a senior judicial source said.

Therefore, the judicial source added, and to “ensure justice, Criminal Court Prosecutor Sultan Shakhanbeh decided to refer the defendant to the National Institute for Psychiatric Medicine for monitoring and evaluation”.

“It will take around three months for government psychiatrists to evaluate her status to determine if she is fit for trial and was aware of her actions when the murder was committed,” the judicial source added.

In her initial testimony to Shakhanbeh, the suspect claimed that “she was not happy at her family’s home since she returned there after being divorced four years ago”, the source said.

On the day of the crime, the source maintained, “the two had an argument and the suspect grabbed a kitchen knife, went to her mother’s room and stabbed her”.

“The suspect told Shakhanbeh that she had no idea why she stabbed her mother,” according to the official source.