French 'Madonna of euthanasia' on trial

Malevre said she acted purely out of compassion

The trial has begun in France of a female nurse accused of murdering seven patients.

Christine Malevre is not the Madonna of euthanasia she makes herself out to be, but a woman who is unbalanced and deliberately overstepped her authority

Olivier Morice
Prosecution lawyer

Christine Malevre, 33, is originally said to have admitted helping about 30 terminally-ill patients to die in a Paris suburban hospital five years ago but later confessed to just four deaths.

She claims she acted out of compassion and was merely helping to end people's suffering.

But families of several of the deceased deny that their relatives had asked to die, and some campaign groups which support voluntary euthanasia have not backed Ms Malevre's case.

Psychiatrists who examined her concluded that she had a "morbid fascination with illness" and was aware of what she was doing.

Olivier Morice, a prosecution lawyer, told French La Chaine Info television: "Christine Malevre is not the Madonna of euthanasia she makes herself out to be, but on the contrary a woman who is unbalanced and who deliberately overstepped her authority."

A verdict is expected on 31 January, and if found guilty Ms Malevre faces life imprisonment.

Charge upgraded

Ms Malevre worked at the Francois-Quesnay hospital in the Paris suburb of Mantes-la-Jolie from February 1997 to May 1998.

In July of that year she was arrested after an investigation into suspicious deaths at the hospital.

She initially admitted to helping 30 patients to die, though her lawyer said that at the time she was under the influence of neuroleptic drugs.

She was charged with manslaughter and released pending her trial, but later admitted to just four deaths of which she said one was "accidental".

On the basis of psychiatric reports, the charges against her were upgraded to murder.

In the final report, 11 suspicious deaths were recorded, but in four of these there was insufficient evidence to press charges.

The trial is expected to give fresh impetus to the debate about euthanasia, a concept which is not recognised by the French legal code.