Mother critical after killing three children, attempting suicide

AMMAN — A woman who killed three of her five children on Saturday and then attempted to commit suicide is now in “critical” condition, putting interrogation on hold, a judicial official said Sunday.

“We could not interrogate the woman due to her situation,” Prosecutor General Tayseer Bani Khaled told The Jordan Times over the phone, voicing doubts over her ability to “make it through the night”.

The woman, in her forties, used her veil to strangle her 12-year-old son, and 11- and nine-year-old daughters, then tried to strangle her two other daughters, aged 16 and 14, who were asleep and woke up to find their siblings dead.

They managed to escape from their house and called the police from a neighbour’s house, Public Security Department Spokesperson Maj. Amer Sartawi told The Jordan Timeson Saturday, adding that police arrived at the scene and saved the woman before taking her to the hospital.

He noted that she suffers from mental issues that worsened immensely after her husband was imprisoned.

Bani Khaled said the two surviving siblings are still in a state of “shock”, which has led to the postponement of their questioning.

“The girls were taken to stay with relatives,” he added.

The prosecutor did not confirm or deny news reports that claim the father was arrested for sexually assaulting his eldest daughter.

“I still don’t have such information. Let’s wait and see.”