A court sketch shows Fabienne Kabou speaking at the start of her trial in Saint-Omer, on June 20, 2016/AFP
SAINT-OMER, France, Jun 21 – A French woman who left her baby to drown on a beach gave a chilling account of the murder Tuesday, telling a court it was as perfunctory as “going shopping”.
Fabienne Kabou, 39, who has blamed witchcraft for her acts, detailed the final hours of her 15-month-old daughter’s life on the second day of a trial into the 2013 murder which shocked France.
She said she left her home in Paris and took a train to the northern resort town of Berck-sur-Mer where she asked passers-by about a hotel near the beach.
“I find it ridiculous that a criminal would speak to so many people before carrying out her act,” Kabou said impassively.
“When you premeditate a crime, you don’t want to be traced.”
She said she played with her daughter Adelaide, before breastfeeding her until she fell asleep after which she took her to the beach and laid her at the water’s edge.
“She didn’t move, she was silent,” Kabou said.
“I understood the water was covering my daughter, my boots were in the water. It was so dark the moon was like a spotlight.”
After leaving her daughter there, she ran away. Prawn fisherman found the toddler’s lifeless body the next morning.
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