 The trial began on December 8 , 2008 and lasted about two weeks , ending December 19 , 2008 in the Assize Court of Brabant @-@ Wallon in Nivelles . Genevieve Lhermitte 's lawyers were Daniel Spreutels and Xavier Magnee . The jury consisted of eight women and four men . Genevieve Lhermitte confessed to the murder of her children , so the trial focused on what drove Lhermitte commit the crime . Xavier Magnee told the jury , " Your task is to discover why a woman who had hitherto been a perfect mother suddenly exploded . " This statement was made early on in the trial and started the thought process of what made Lhermitte so unstable that she would kill her own children . Prosecutor Pierre Rans began opening statements with a description of the scene that met emergency services on February 28 , 2007 at the former teacher 's home in Nivelles . The prosecutor asked for 30 years in prison . 
