Noelia de Mingo, a physician who carried out violent acts in Madrid in 2003 and later faced trial for additional offenses, accepted a penalty in El Molar (Madrid) in 2021. The sentence awarded was thirty-three years in a psychiatric prison setting.
The Madrid Provincial Court had planned to hold a hearing on the case this Monday, focusing on events that occurred in El Molar on September 20, 2021. Prosecutors requested a sentence of nine years and nine months in prison for two murders, with consideration of additional factors related to interference and a separate assault. The defense maintained that the defendant did not have full mental capacity and argued for a defense based on mental abnormality. For the two victims involved, the prosecution sought fifteen years in prison for each attempted murder, while De Mingo’s defense urged commitment to a psychiatric facility as a form of full defense due to her illness. [Citation: Public Prosecutor’s Office, Madrid]
Prior to the hearing, a formal agreement was reached between the defendant and the prosecution. De Mingo admitted the facts and accepted the proposed punishment: fifteen years of imprisonment for each of the two attempted murders, plus three years and one day for assaulting a law enforcement officer. The agreement provided for a complete defense based on mental anomaly and included measures to ensure monitoring and respect for the terms of the sentence. The terms also restricted the defendant from approaching the victims within a radius of 500 meters for five years and prohibited entry into El Molar for the same period. Additionally, it was stipulated that De Mingo would pay compensation totaling 110,000 euros to one victim and 50,000 euros to the other. [Citation: Public Prosecutor’s Office, Madrid]
The presiding judge read the sentence aloud as De Mingo, who remained in custody, acknowledged and accepted the decision with a brief affirmative statement. [Citation: Court records, Madrid]
In the indictment issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, it was stated that at the time of the incidents the defendant suffered from a mental illness, described as paranoid schizophrenia, which significantly altered her perception and understanding of reality. This condition did not remove responsibility but did limit her intellectual and volitional capacities, according to the prosecution. It was noted that in 2003 the defendant had previously received an affirmation of mental illness in relation to three murders, four attempted offenses, and one serious injury case. [Citation: Public Prosecutor’s Office, Madrid]
Noelia de Mingo had previously been sentenced to twenty-five years in a psychiatric facility for three murders committed in 2003 while employed as a doctor at the Jiménez Díaz Foundation in Madrid. Reports from prison supervision and medical experts indicated that she was released in October 2017 after the Madrid Regional Court modified the prison term to outpatient treatment and family custody. Three years later, on September 20, 2021, the same individual is described as having entered a supermarket armed with a knife, where she stabbed a cashier and another employee before confronting officers arriving to intervene. [Citation: Public Prosecutor’s Office, Madrid]
The sequence of events in 2021 followed a period of freedom and supervision. After a four-year period of liberty, the new incident occurred in the supermarket, leading to the confrontation with law enforcement officers. The case has been the subject of extensive examination by the judicial and medical authorities, reflecting the complexities involved in balancing public safety with assessments of mental health. [Citation: Madrid Court Records]
Overall, the proceedings highlight the interplay between mental health assessments and criminal accountability, particularly in cases involving violent offenses by medical professionals. The final agreement and its conditions illustrate the authorities’ approach to ensuring both accountability and ongoing public safety. [Citation: Public Prosecutor’s Office, Madrid]