A FRENCH mum who subjected her 13-year-old daughter to years of unimaginable torture before starving her to death has been sentenced to life in prison.
Sandrine Pissarra, 54, was convicted on Friday by a court in Montpellier of inflicting acts of “torture and barbarity” on her daughter, Amandine, who died of a heart attack in 2020.
FTVA French mum was jailed for life after starving her daughter Amandine (pictured) to death[/caption]
FTVThe 13-year-old girl tragically died in 2020 after years of abuse[/caption]
Amandine, who weighed just 28 kilograms (62 pounds) at the time of her death, had endured years of horrific abuse, including beatings, starvation, and being locked in a windowless storage room for weeks.
She had lost several teeth, her hair had been ripped out, and she suffered from severe muscle loss and septicaemia, a medical report revealed.
Pissarra, described by prosecutors as a “domestic tyrant” and “executioner,” must serve at least 20 years before being eligible for parole.
Her ex-partner, Jean-Michel Cros, 49, was also sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the abuse.
He was convicted of depriving Amandine of care, a crime the court branded “cowardly collaboration.”
Unlike Pissarra, Cros is ineligible for parole.
“I want to apologize to my children, that’s all,” Pissarra said in a final statement.
Meanwhile, Cros said: “I have nothing to add.”
HOUSE OF HORRORS
Prosecutor Jean-Marie Beney laid bare the chilling extent of Amandine’s suffering.
He described how she was beaten with brooms, punched, kicked and subjected to relentless verbal and physical abuse from a very young age.
“For Pissarra, domestic tyrant, dictator of the home, executioner of Amandine, there can only be one sentence – a life term,” Beney declared.
The investigating magistrate’s report painted an equally harrowing picture, stating there was “no doubt” that Pissarra’s sole intent was to drag Amandine into “shameful and humiliating agony.”
The court heard that Amandine was forced to endure endless “writing punishments” and deprived of food as part of her mother’s calculated cruelty.
Cameras installed in the storage room monitored her every move.
According to psychiatric experts, Pissarra transferred her hatred for Amandine’s father onto her daughter, unleashing years of anger and violence.
FINAL DAYS
On the day Amandine died, Pissarra claimed her daughter had only consumed a piece of sugar, fruit purée, and a high-protein drink before she began vomiting and stopped breathing.
The mother of eight, who ran a nail salon, initially blamed Amandine’s death on eating disorders – a claim dismissed by the court.
Cros, meanwhile, was branded a passive enabler who allowed the abuse to continue unchecked.
“He deprived Amandine of care until her death,” Beney said.
Pissarra’s defence team argued others – including neighbours, doctors, social workers, and teachers – should share the blame for Amandine’s suffering.
While acknowledging Pissarra’s “individual responsibility,” her lawyer Jean-Marc Darrigade pointed to a broader “collective failure,” adding, “This tragedy could have been prevented.”
But for Amandine, the system failed her too late.
Pissarra now faces life behind bars for her heinous crimes – a sentence prosecutors called justice for a life lost too soon.
Leave a comment
