Mother who left baby to drown on beach blames 'witchcraft'.

A French mother who left her 15-month-old baby to drown on the beach has told the court she blames ‘witchcraft’ for her baby’s death.

Fabienne Kabou, 39, is facing murder charges following the death of her 15-month-old daughter Adelaide back in November 2013.

Ms Kabou travelled with her daughter from her home in Paris to northern resort town of Berck-sur-Me where she allegedly asked about the local tides before heading to the beach.

It was there that Senegalese-born Kabou bid farewell to her sleeping daughter, leaving her near the water’s edge only for her lifeless body to be found early the next morning by prawn fishermen.

Kabou told the court she has no explanation other than “witchcraft” for why she ended up killing her daughter.

“In 2011 I fell pregnant with Adélaïde, she was born in August and I ended up killing her 15 months after her birth,” she told the court.

“Witchcraft. That’s my default explanation because I have no other.”

The Guardian are reporting that Kabou told the court she had spent around €40,000 ($60,700) on consultations with “witchdoctors and healers” in the lead up to her daughter’s murder.

“Nothing makes sense in this story. What interest could I have in tormenting myself, lying, killing my daughter? I spoke of sorcery and I’m not joking. Even a stupid person would not do what I did.”

In describing how the events of that night unfolded, French press report Kabou told the court she sat beside her 15-month-old as she lay in the shallows of the water.

“I put her down, I spoke to her, I told her I was sorry. She was fine, I think. She didn’t feel in danger, I was next to her, on my knees.

“I gave her a long hug… she wasn’t exactly asleep but she was calm… I don’t know how long I stayed there, saying I was sorry, talking to her. Then I turned on my heels and I ran.”

According ABC News, Kabou’s lawyer Fabienne Roy-Nansion told the court her client came from a privileged Catholic background and of “remarkable intelligence,” and was described in court as a brilliant student.

When she pushed her into providing reasoning behind these evil forces at play, Kabou explained she had been tormented for some time now.

“For many years I struggled to wake up in the morning, my feet were paralysed,” she said.

“I had hallucinations, like the walls which didn’t stop trembling.”

Kabou faces life imprisonment for her actions.

*Feature image screenshots via BFMTV.