A French woman, Sandrine Pissarra, was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for the abuse and starvation of her daughter, Amandine, who died in 2020 at the age of 13 from a heart attack after years of mistreatment.
Pissarra, 54, was convicted in Montpellier of inflicting acts of torture and barbarity on Amandine. She must serve at least 20 years behind bars before being eligible for parole, following the court's decision. The sentence, the maximum allowed for the crime, aligns with the prosecutors’ demands and was delivered by a panel of three professional judges and six jurors.
Amandine’s father, Jean-Michel Cros, 49, was also sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in depriving her of care. His sentence, which has no possibility of parole, was harsher than the 18 years requested by prosecutors, though he could have faced up to 30 years.
When Amandine died on August 6, 2020, she weighed just 28 kilograms (62 pounds) and stood 1.55 meters (5.1 feet) tall. Her severe malnutrition was compounded by muscle loss, septicemia, and other physical damage, including the loss of several teeth and hair. She had been locked in a windowless storage room for weeks and deprived of food.
Throughout her childhood, Amandine had been subjected to frequent physical abuse, including beatings with brooms, punches, kicks, hair-pulling, and verbal insults, according to prosecutor Jean-Marie Beney. Pissarra was described by the prosecutor as a "domestic tyrant, dictator of the home, executioner of Amandine," with a life sentence being the only fitting punishment.
After her daughter’s death, Pissarra claimed Amandine had suffered from eating disorders, but this was never corroborated by others. Pissarra stated that on the day of Amandine’s death, her daughter had agreed to eat only a small amount of sugar, fruit puree, and a protein drink, but then began vomiting and stopped breathing.
Pissarra, who had run a nail salon and had eight children from three relationships, had been in custody since May 2021. Prosecutors described Cros as a "cowardly collaborator" who failed to provide Amandine with care until her death.
Investigators concluded that Amandine had endured extreme violence from her mother, which was aimed at subjecting her to a "humiliating agony." This included being locked in a storage room under constant surveillance and subjected to cruel punishments, including forced writing tasks.
Psychiatrists determined that Pissarra, known for her anger and violence, likely channelled her hatred for Amandine’s father onto her daughter’s body.
One of Pissarra’s lawyers, Jean-Marc Darrigade, acknowledged her responsibility but also suggested "collective responsibility," asking for a "fair, reasonable" sentence that would allow her eventual reintegration into society.
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