Mum locked baby in cat carrier and threw her from third-floor flat window, German court told

Horrified neighbours heard the tot scream in agony as the box hit the ground after plunging nearly 40ft on to a brick courtyard.

Astonishingly the baby, covered in blood and with multiple fractures, survived and was taken into care. Now her 41-year-old mother, named only as Nikola K. in court, has gone on trial at the Berlin Regional Court in Germany for her attempted murder five months ago.

Prosecutors said at the opening on November 4 that she deliberately shut her defenceless daughter in the carrier and hurled her from the window "like rubbish".

Her lawyer claims she has "no active memory" of the incident and should not be on trial because she was suffering from "acute psychosis". Prosecutors, however, say that moments after the police used a battering ram to get into the family apartment she was aware enough of her crime to try to conceal it.

When officers asked the baby's nine-year-old brother where his sister was Nikola K. shut him up and lied: "At grandma's."

Medical witnesses will say that the baby girl suffered horrific injuries including lower leg and pelvic fractures, damage to her lungs and spine with severe facial bruising. The single mum-of-four's other children are reported to be living with relatives.

Nikola K. has given no statement since her arrest and is not expected to give evidence at the trial. But when she was seized she told police: "I thought my God would save me."

The trial continues and a verdict is expected by November 21.

Story: NewsX