The mother, who is originally from the town of Riesi, told investigators she was distraught both by the breakdown of her marriage and a relationship with another man, with whom she had had a child ten months ago.

Her failed relationships with these men caused her to fall into a “deep depression”, according to Corriere del Mezzogiorno.

Her husband, a farm labourer, reluctantly agreed to stay with her and help raise the child, who became the source of constant arguments between the couple.

Then, three months ago, the woman decided to go and live with her lover with whom she also had a troubled relationship.

Apparently unable to cope with the breakdown of her relationships, the woman, a 43-year-old housewife, decided to end both her and the baby’s life.

On a Sunday evening the woman then made her way to an inspection well of a sewage plant in the city where many eyewitnesses reported seeing a woman crying and screaming with a baby in her arms. 

Alarmed by her behaviour, the woman’s lover, 47, followed her and alerted the police who arrested her in time.

The woman is now under house arrest and faces charges of aggravated murder. Her daughter has now been taken into care. 

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