A never-before incident has taken place in Lithuania, and a 49-year-old woman named Irena from the city of Panevėžys, in the region of Raguva, had to face justice for her crime. The woman left her 17-year-old pregnant daughter without help when her life was in danger.
Earlier this year police inPanevėžys found the body of a young woman–known to the public only as Kristina–and a newborn baby 2 meters from the riverside in the valley of Nevėžis.
The officers later found that the young lady had given birth at home, and had even herself cut the umbilical cord. The scissors were laid on the ground in blood. After Kristina had given birth she took the newborn baby in her arms and went to the river. She jumped off the bridge with her baby in her arms.
Later in the court her mother pleaded, “I am not guilty of what happened with my daughter. I beg you to let me leave the court. I loved my daughter, but she herself chose her way.”
A few years ago Kristina’s father died tragically. Until then he and the mother had been habitual alcoholics. Kristina was the youngest child in the family. Her teacher said that she was a calm girl but since the 5th grade she was usually absent from school. It seemed that she would come to school only to eat, as the food was provided free.
There are two other children in the family, a sister and a brother. The sister is studying and the brother is working for living. The mother has already been in court in the past for not taking care of the children. Social workers and children’s right defenders were usual guests at their home. The mother never changed her lifestyle.
Neighbors and other locals reported seeing the youngest daughter with a young man who was from another village walking together and holding hands shortly before rumors of Kristina’s pregnancy began to circulate. Kristina, however, had always denied the rumors.
A social worker from the Kristina’s school offered to provide her with a pregnancy test, after which the test result was announced to be negative. But before long it became difficult for the skinny young woman to hide the pregnancy.
Oksana, a neighbor, said, “I took all the clothes from my baby. I thought Kristina’s newborn would need them as there is no one who could 
help and take care of her. Kristina was always a calm girl. She never kept in contact with others. Her alcoholic mother never loved Kristina.”
When her mother found out about her daughter’s pregnancy, she called her bad names, beat her and left her homeless. When Kristina gave birth at home, her mother was drinking alcohol in another room. She did not want to know and hear anything about her daughter or the baby.
The young mother and child were buried in the same coffin. Kristina was wearing a wedding dress and the newborn was laid on her chest.
Several week after the funeral of Kristina and her newborn, we went to see her her mother, Irena. There was a bad smell and dirt all over her house. In the middle of the day, the woman laid in the dirty bed and slept. She woke up crying, “I loved my daughter so much. I never did or said anything wrong to her. I’ll take care of her grave.
The woman does not hide her addiction to alcohol. “It is my fault that when she was giving birth I was drunk laying in my be.” When her daughter cried and yelled because of labor pains her mother never heard it. When Kristina cut the umbilical cord she put 
the newborn baby in a bed-sheet so the baby would not get cold. She was holding the baby when she left the house with no shoes in the cold weather. The footprints of blood were seen there.
A big heart of red flowers was put on the grave of these girls to represent the love of a family which they have never felt.
by Sniegė Pilypienė