Slovenian woman who cut off hand for insurance payout sentenced to prison

A young Slovenian woman who deliberately chopped her hand off to make a fraudulent insurance claim was sentenced to prison Friday.

Julija Adlesic, 22, was found guilty of attempted insurance fraud and sentenced to two years behind bars by the district court in Ljubljana, The Associated Press reports.

Adlesic denied that she’d intentionally cut her hand with a circular saw, telling the court that her “youth has been destroyed” by the incident and “no one wants to be crippled. … Only I know how it happened.”

Early last year, the convict, whose last name was also reported as Andlasic, and her boyfriend agreed to sever her left hand above the wrist at their residence in the capital, authorities said.

Her boyfriend and his father took Adlesic to the hospital, claiming she was sawing branches when she sustained the injury.

Instead of bringing her severed hand to the hospital, authorities say the group left it behind to make sure the damage was permanent.

Authorities subsequently recovered the body part, which was reattached to the con.

Adlesic’s boyfriend has been sentenced to three years behind bars. A one-year suspended sentence was given to his father.

In the days preceding the incident, the boyfriend conducted online searches about artificial hands, said prosecutors, who say this solidifies the duo’s intent.

About a year prior, the court said Adlesic signed contracts with five insurance companies and stood to collect more than 1 million euros (nearly $1.2 million).

Half of that money would have been paid to her immediately, while she would have received the remainder in monthly installments.

With News Wire Services