A woman who allegedly hacked her five-year-old son to death with a machete and cooked and ate part of his head has no mental disorders, the Egyptian Public Prosecution has ruled. The suspect, 29-year-old Hanaa Mohamed Hassan, has been presented to the criminal court, where she will stand trial for the premeditated murder of her son, Youssef.
New reports have detailed how the suspect allegedly killed her victim by hitting him on the head three times with the murder weapon. Earlier reports told how the alleged crime was discovered when Youssef’s horrified uncle found body parts in buckets at the family home in Abu Shalabi, Ash Sharqiyah Governorate last month.
According to the investigation, Hassan killed Youssef to stop her ex-husband and his family from communicating with him or pursuing her legal visitation rights. The investigation found that Hassan was of sound mind and that she had not consumed any drugs or medications that would affect her mental state.
Following Hassan’s arrest, police officers were shocked when she confessed that she had eaten part of her son’s head because she ‘wanted him to stay with her forever’. Hassan’s ex-husband, H.A., told local media at the time: ‘When I arrived, the police prevented me from seeing my son because of the horrific scene.’
He explained: ‘We separated from each other four years ago because she had landed from her father and asked me to leave the house and my family and go with her to live on the land. But I refused, and the relationship ended entirely by her will, and I tried to reconcile with her after the divorce, but she refused and stuck to her opinion.’
H.A. added: ‘My son was the one who kept me connected to her, and I used to see him regularly and bring him clothes and things he needed. But recently, she was trying to keep him away from me and plant hatred towards me in his heart, so he wouldn’t come to me. I was trying to communicate with her family to see my son and make sure he was okay.’
According to his lawyer, Samir Mohamed Saleh, Hassan was stone-faced when she told the police in Faqous: ‘I wanted to free him and myself. I wanted to take revenge against his father and be free. His father keeps coming and trying to take him away all the time.’
