Mom, ‘hammer three-year-old daughter to death after overdose of antidepressants’

A mother accused of killing her own three-year - old daughter in a hammer attack is in critical condition at the hospital after trying to take her own life.

Natalia Petunina is said to have attacked little Lisa after taking an overdose of antidepressants when she was alone in her apartment in Kirovgrad, Russia, on Friday.

The child was found in a pool of blood by her father, Vladimir, just minutes after her terrible death, the local prosecutor said. The shocked man who came home from work to have lunch called the ambulance immediately.

Paramedics came and told that she was dead before she reported her violent death to the police. Forensic scientists said that the child died a few times after being hit by a hammer on the head.

Petunina, who was trying to commit suicide on the scene, was taken to a hospital where the doctors were fighting for her life.

Police spokesperson Valeriy Gorelykh told the local media, "After the mother had apparently understood what she had done, she tried to take her own life.

"She did not fulfil her plan because her husband came home from work for lunch and called the emergency services."

The Sverdlovsk Territory Committee of Inquiry has opened criminal proceedings for the murder of a minor against a mother who, if convicted, faces a prison term of up to 20 years.

Petunina had been on antidepressants and had been able to take too many medicines, which caused an overdose, according to investigators.

Mr. Gorelykh added, "Just before the tragedy, the mother took a much larger dose of drugs than she should have taken.

"That could provoke the child's aggression. Petunina 's relatives confirm that she was suffering from depression and taking antidepressants.

Her mother, Valentina, said, "When Vladimir found Lisa, he thought it was the colour of her head.

"My daughter had constant anxiety and had prescribed antidepressants.

"When she saw an ambulance or a police car in the street, she panics, thinking that they were after her.

"She totally ruined her life. "'"

Petunina was a good mother, and she never used to drink alcohol, say her relatives and the people she knows.

A friend of the suspect said, "When I saw her, Natalia was always in a good mood. She loved her daughter very much, she took great care of her.

"The girl has always been neatly and beautifully dressed."