Video: Brazilian woman, Luciana Paula Figueiredo arrested after allegedly attempting to suffocate her hospitalized mother, Ana Benedita Figueiredo.
A Brazilian woman has been arrested after being filmed trying to suffocate her hospitalized mother, by putting her hands over her mouth and nose.
Luciana Paula Figueiredo, 32, was apprehended by authorities after other patients at Dr. Carlos Macieira Hospital in Sao Paolo recorded her seemingly trying to kill her mother, Ana Benedita Figueiredo, in her bed, according to local reports.
Video shows Luciana’s hand covering Ana’s face and mouth as her elderly woman struggles to breathe. On a closer look, it appears as though the 32-year-old is pushing up the bedding in a bid to stop her 68-year-old mother from breathing.
Luciana was arrested at the scene and charged with attempted murder, with Civil Police sources saying the daughter had tried to kill her mother because she was tired of looking after her.
Investigators are also seeking to determine if the daughter tampered with her mother’s medication after they found a syringe in one of her bags.
Daughter claims to have had normal relationship with mother:
‘We have information on what motivated this criminal act being the daughter being tired of taking care of an elderly mother, who has several health problems,’ said Local superintendent Carlos Alessandro. ‘And according to what was passed on by the on-duty officer, this could have been one of the causes of this very serious criminal act against the mother, committed by her daughter.’
During questioning, Luciana claimed having a ‘normal relationship’ with her mother and had ‘put her hand on her mother’s mouth with a different aim, that it had nothing to do with killing her.’
The 32-year-old’s defense team has said that their client has ‘borderline personality disorder’ and ‘panic syndrome’ and has asked for a mental insanity incident to be brought into the case.
‘Before the case, she was already undergoing medical treatment. We ask that she continue her treatment at a suitable establishment. If it doesn’t continue, it could make her condition worse,’ they said.
Judge Janaina Araujo de Carvalho has ordered that she be kept in preventative prison and that she undergo a biopsychosocial evaluation.
Ana was admitted to the hospital on January 19 after suffering a pulmonary embolism, a condition where one or more arteries in the lungs become blocked by a blood clot. She was taken to the intensive care unit after the incident. The mother’s current condition is unclear.
