Doctor accused of poisoning her children pleads innocent; Says case has ruined her life

Sarah V., the 37-year-old doctor who the Public Prosecution Service accused of poisoning two of her three children, pleaded for her innocence in detail one last time in the District Court of Utrecht on Tuesday. She asked the court to look only at the facts for her sake, and her children's, in an emotional appeal. "You may have never seen my children, but trust me, they are more than worth it," she concluded.

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) demanded last week that the court convict V., and sentence her to 11 years in prison. She was alleged to have caused her son to become ill around the time of his birth in 2016, and investigators claimed she kept the boy sick for a period of four years. She is accused of aggravated assault regarding the young boy. V. is also suspected of the attempted murder of her two-month-old daughter by poisoning her when the girl was already ill.

Both children were very ill for a long time and were on the verge of dying, the OM said. The OM accused the woman of Münchausen syndrome by proxy, a form of child abuse where symptoms are deliberately caused, often for attention or another emotional gain. However, as V. has denied the crimes it has been difficult to establish the motive.

The case is very complex, and the investigation has been ongoing for years. The court will require extra time to reach a verdict, which will be announced on March 19. The court chair added that she is keeping all options open, including the possibility of reopening the case to new evidence or testimony. "It is honestly unclear to us how we will decide on this."

V.'s lawyers have asked for a full acquittal as they believe the evidence for a conviction is missing. They described their client as "a desperate mother."

That desperation was clearly expressed in V.'s final statement, which brought the emotionally charged, six-day trial to an end on Tuesday. "It has not been a fair trial" due to the Public Prosecution Service, V. said. The OM allegedly kept her and her lawyers in the dark for a long time regarding the case file surrounding her son, only making the suspicions concrete when substantiating their sentencing demand.

V. believes that she has been unable to adequately mount a defense because of this. She said the OM has "dealt with the facts selectively and subjectively."

V. was arrested at the beginning of January 2021. She was held in custody for a month and was freed under strict conditions. She still has contact with her children but is not allowed to live with them.

"My life has been destroyed these last few years," she said. "The impact on my life, my husband's life, and my children is indescribable. Every day, we are reminded of this case. Not only do I know the conditions by heart, but my children do too."