Sunday, July 7, 2024 - A mum has been jailed after killing her newborn daughter by throwing the infant out a window because she "thought a baby would ruin her career," a court heard.
Katarina Jovanovic, 28, was sentenced
to seven-and-a-half years after being convicted of manslaughter.
Katarina was a top lawyer
for Porsche, from Lauffen am Neckar, Baden-Wuerttemberg
State, Germany.
She faced a judge at the Heilbronn
District Court on Wednesday, July 3.
Jovanovic secretly gave birth at home
on September 12, 2023, before hurling the baby from her flat window, the court
heard.
The newborn, who was just minutes
old, fell almost four meters into the road below and suffered a shattered
skull.
Traumatised passersby found her shortly
after the horror unfolded and cops raced to the scene.
Prosecutors told the court how
Jovanovic believed having a child would ruin her career as an executive in the
luxury car manufacturer's legal department.
They told the court she deliberately
kept her pregnancy a secret from colleagues and neighbours.
Public prosecutor Mareike
Hafendoerfer said: "The accused was not prepared to put her life plans,
especially her professional advancement, on hold for a child.
"That was her decision when the
baby was born, and as a result, the criteria for a murder conviction are
fulfilled."
Jovanovic's lawyers claimed their
client had accidentally dropped the baby after giving birth alone at home.
They argued she had not realised she
had been pregnant.
Defence attorney Malte Hoech, 53,
said: "It is a drama that affects me personally. My client did not even
know that she was pregnant.
"When she suddenly held the
bloody baby in her hands, she was in an exceptional psychological situation.
"It was an accident, she dropped
the baby. How the child ended up over the windowsill remains to be
determined."
The court accepted the manslaughter
charge and Jovanovic was jailed for seven-and-a-half years.
Her lawyers claim they plan to appeal
the verdict after fighting for a sentence of just three years.
Neighbours previously told local
media they did not realise Jovanovic was pregnant.
One said: "Nobody noticed that
the woman was pregnant. Recently she had changed and was no longer talking to
us.
"We thought she was stressed at
work."
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