Mother Kills 4-Year-Old After Growing Jealous Over Her Bond With Dad's New Girlfriend: Police

A woman in Italy has been arrested after she admitted to murdering her 4-year-old daughter, whom she initially claimed was abducted.

The 23-year-old Martina Patti from Sicily allegedly committed the crime after she grew jealous over her daughter's bond with her ex-partner's new girlfriend, the police said, according to The Guardian.

Patti initially told the police her daughter, Elena Del Pozzo, was kidnapped by three hooded men for ransom, while the former was bringing her back from her nursery Monday.

However, after an initial investigation, the police ruled out the possibility of kidnapping for ransom as the family of the victim was not wealthy enough to be a target. The investigators also found several inconsistencies in Patti's kidnapping story.

During interrogation Tuesday, Patti admitted she stabbed her daughter with a kitchen knife and buried her body in a shallow grave. She then took the investigators to the place where the child's body was buried.

Pozzo's body was found in a field close to her home in Mascalucia, a town in the province of Catania. The victim's body was wrapped in trash bags, and was partially buried in a shallow grave that Patti dug herself, reports said.

Patti told the cops she did not know why she murdered the girl and claimed, "I wasn’t myself" when committing the crime. "I don’t remember what went through my mind when I stabbed my daughter," she reportedly said.

The investigators believe the suspect was driven by jealousy after her daughter grew close to her estranged partner's current girlfriend. Patti could not tolerate the new girlfriend "showing affection towards her daughter," police said.

"One of the possible reasons that led Martina Patti to carry out the act may be jealousy, not only of her ex-partner’s new partner but also of her daughter’s possible affection towards the woman," a senior investigating officer Piercarmine Sica said, as reported by Nenyko.

It wasn't clear when the child was murdered.

A 35-year-old man in Illinois was arrested this week after he confessed to drowning his three kids amid ongoing divorce proceedings with his estranged wife. After the alleged murder, the man reportedly left a note to the children's mother saying if he could not have them, neither could she.