On Monday, a court in Manacor denied a request for the release of a 34-year-old woman who put rat poison in her children's food. She is accused of having attempted to kill them.
She has been in prison since May 28, the National Police having arrested her following a call from her ex-partner and the father of one of the two children, a four-year-old boy. The other child is aged 14.
The woman had herself taken the poison with the intention of committing suicide. She and the children were admitted to Son Espases Hospital and were discharged three days later. At hospital, the children tested positive for benzodiazepines (Valium is a benzodiazepine). The day before the poisoning episode, she had given them the drug and sedated them. At one point she attempted to smother the 14-year-old girl with a cushion; the girl managed to get away.