Mum accused of killing her son ‘fit to face trial’

A MOTHER accused of stabbing her seven-yearold son 31 times over two days before he died has been found psychologically fit to face justice.

On Wednesday Lefkoşa Assizes Court rejected claims by the lawyer representing Bilge Lord Kunduracı, (pictured) 36, that she cannot be held responsible for the 2018 murder of little Ercan Kunduracı on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

While on remand in prison, Kunduracı’s behaviour — including an attempt to escape — had demonstrated that she was “mentally capable”, court president Fadıl Aksu said.

“Her phone calls from prison, in addition to the answers she gave to questions, have not convinced the court that she was incapable of understanding her situation or being responsible for her actions,” he said.

Mr Aksu also referred to handwritten letters that Kunduracı had sent from her prison cell which, he said, also demonstrated that she was fit to stand trial. An earlier court hearing was told by Police Inspector Mehmet Sözmener that the accused had planned to kill her son, whose body was discovered by his maternal grandparents — and tragedy struck again when the boy’s grandfather, Tahir Lord, 64, suffered a fatal heart attack on coming across the horrifying scene at around 7pm on May 28 last year.

The court then heard that Kunduracı killed her son after becoming angry over social media messages that had been posted by her husband, who she was in the process of divorcing.

The case was adjourned to September 20.