Basel boy death: elderly woman charged with murder

Flowers left at the scene of the crime in Basel (KEYSTONE/Georgios Kefalas)

The 75-year-old woman who stabbed a boy to death in Basel in March, has been charged with murder. The local prosecutors said on Friday that they want her to be remanded in custody until the trial.

The incident caused shockwaves across Switzerland. The boy was walking home alone at lunchtime on March 21 from his primary school – children often go home for lunch in Switzerland – when he was approached by the woman and stabbed with a knife.

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He was found by a passerby and helped by the boy’s teacher who was cycling past. Emergency services were called to the scene, but the boy died from his injuries shortly after undergoing emergency surgery at the University Children’s Hospital Basel.

The Swiss suspect, who lives in Basel, left the scene and told several people by text message about what she had done, before turning herself in to the police. A police search had been underway. Her motive was said to be unclear.

In its latest update to the case, canton of Basel City prosecutor’s office said in a statementExternal link that the woman had remained in custody since the crime. It stated that she had be charged with murder. “Murder is the worst designation for homicides. Our view that is it is justified here,” Peter Gill, from the prosecutor’s office, told Swiss television SRFExternal link.

A psychiatric assessment has shown that the woman is not criminally liable for her actions. “This is why we have requested that she remains in custody,” Gill added. The court will now decide, but the woman will remain in custody until then.