The Hainaut Assize Court on Tuesday heard mental health experts appointed by the judge investigating the death of 9-month-old Enzo, whose mother, Madissone Massy, stands accused of beating and murdering him.
On 18 July 2019, the child was rushed to Jolimont Hospital, where he died four days later. Accused of murdering her son, Massy denied any intent to murder, but admitted pressing on his chest as he lay on an adult bed in Hornu Hospital, another medical institution in Mons.
According to the forensic doctors, the cause of death was mechanical asphyxia, compatible with the action taken by the accused.
The experts found that the accused did not suffer from a mental disorder, and was therefore responsible for her actions. However, they described her as an anxious, depressive, schizoid personality who needed to cling to another person for fear of abandonment.
The specialists, meeting as a college, were asked to rule on a possible Munchausen Syndrome. Explaining this uncommon condition, psychiatrist Samuel Leistedt said it belonged to “a series of factitious disorders whose common denominator could be the word simulation."
"It is considered chronic and is extremely rare, which is why there is little literature on the subject,” he explained.
This disorder begins between the ages of 15 and 18, mainly in women at a low or medium socio-economic level, according to the psychiatrist. “These are generally isolated women, living in a complex family dynamic," he said. "Personality problems and anxiety disorders are found.”
In this syndrome, the common denominator is drawing attention to oneself, through “medical shopping” for example. On 11 occasions between 8 February and 16 July 2019, the accused took her son to the Hornu, Baudour, Saint-Joseph and Warquignies hospitals in Mons. The child was nevertheless in good health, the forensic doctors declared on Monday.
The experts identified 14 criteria for Munchausen syndrome, which, they said, has no criminal impact. In this case, 75% of the criteria were present in the accused.
