Mother Allegedly Beheads 13-Month-Old Baby Before Trying To Kill Self, Child’s Decapitated Body Found

In a shocking incident in India, a woman allegedly beheaded her 13-month-old baby before trying to kill herself. Authorities said she was mentally challenged.

The 23-year-old woman, identified only as Jitendri, was married to a tailor, police said. On Thursday, Jitendri was sleeping with her baby and her three sisters-in-law in the same room. The sisters-in-law woke up after hearing someone jumping off the roof. They searched for Jitendri and her son but did not find them in the room. One of the women then went to the roof of their home and found the beheaded baby, NDTV reported.

The same woman searched for Jitendri and found a locked room in an abandoned house in the backyard. When she raised an alarm, locals arrived and they broke the room open. Jitendri was found lying unconscious with injury marks around the neck, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Santosh Kumar Singh told India.com.

The woman was rushed to a hospital but she died on the way. The India.com report said the woman had jumped off the roof to kill herself after beheading her baby. However, it remains unclear how she ended up in the locked room in the backyard.

Police recovered a sickle, a packet of some poisonous substance and a milk bottle from the site. The bodies of both the mother and the baby have been sent for autopsy. The motive behind the killing remains unknown.

Last year, a woman in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh set her 5-month-old baby on fire. The woman, identified as Guddi Singh, was arrested after she confessed to the crime.

"The accused Guddi Singh is stated to be mentally unstable. She confessed to her crime but didn't say much. The counselors are taking care of her," police sub-inspector Manoj Singh said at the time. They suspect the killing was part of some "occult practice."

If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours, every day.