The tragic saga of an Irish couple whose lives were changed by the death of a newborn infant moved closer to resolution yesterday when the mother was freed conditionally by French authorities, from Lara Marlowe, in Paris.
The 21-year-old woman was under investigation for murder after her baby boy was found wrapped in a towel inside a plastic bag in a hotel corridor on the French Riviera on February 12th. Her companion, a 35-year-old Irishman who had been her school teacher years earlier, was accused of failing to come to the assistance of the infant and failing to denounce a crime. Under French law, she risked life imprisonment, while he could have been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The Irish woman has been detained in a hospital ward and in Nice women's prison since February. Her parents, who rented an apartment in Nice to be near her, went to fetch her from the prison in a taxi.
Her release follows the release of the Irishman, who had been freed on bail in March but was required to remain in France until last weekend. He was not the father of the child, but was understood to be concerned for the welfare of the young woman, with whom he had a romantic relationship.
"The case has changed scale," the public prosecutor, Mr Raymond Doumas, said. "It is no longer a criminal but a civil matter." The investigation will continue, he added, but he doubted it would ever come to trial.
The young woman will reside in a home under medical and psychiatric supervision, and will not be allowed to leave France yet. No bail was required.