Woman jailed for deliberately sawing her hand off to claim insurance payment of $1.1 million
A 22-year-old woman from Ljubljana, Slovenia, came up with a morbid plan to get a big handout from an insurance company when she deliberately decided to saw her hand off right above the wrist and leave the detached part back at home when they left to the hospital for treatment so that it couldn't be reattached. Julija Adlesic came up with this plan with her boyfriend Sebastien Abramov's help in the hopes of getting $1.1 million (£925,000).
The prosecution argued that Adlesic signed up for up to five different insurance policies a year prior to cutting her hands off. She was found guilty of attempted insurance fraud by a court in the city and then sentenced to three years. With her macabre plan, Adlesic stood to earn a payout of £925,000 ($1.1 million) — with about half of it paid immediately after the incident and the rest paid over regular monthly installment — in case of disability caused due to amputation.
The incident occurred in 2019 and when investigated, it was found that Abramov had researched online regarding artificial limbs and how they work. This was used as key evidence in proving that Adlesic's injury was part of an elaborate plan mapped out by Adlesic and Abramov in order to get the insurance payout.
After deliberately chopping her hand off, it was Abramov and his father who had accompanied Adlesic to a hospital for treatment. She and her boyfriend had both stated at the hospital that the injury was caused while she was sawing a tree branch. While the medics did treat her, the prosecutors argued that the two were con artistes who had attempted to circumvent the law in order to be paid handsomely at the end of their con game. The reason being the hand that was left behind by the duo intentionally.
It was also argued that there was a good reason, or more accurately, a valid reason for Adlesic wanting to leave the sawed part behind. The prosection believed that the couple wanted the injury to be the cause of permanent disability in order to be able to receive the complete payout. The law enforcement had recovered the severed appendage from Adlesic's home and it is this that had caused suspicions among the cops.
Adlesic and Abramov's plans too were foiled as the surgeon then affixed the severed part after it was recovered. In her defense, Adlesic claimed that she was innocent and said that her entire youth had been destroyed because of this one incident. She said in court according to The Sun, "No one wants to be crippled. My youth has been destroyed. I lost my hand at the age of 20. Only I know how it happened."
This bizarre incident has gained a lot of attention from the public and the media as well. In his sentence to the defendant, judge Marjeta Dvornik said, "We believe the sentences are fair and appropriate and will serve their purpose."
Abramov, who was an accomplice in all this, was also punished as he was sentenced to three years in prison. His father, who had accompanied Abramov and Adlesic to the hospital, on the other hand, received a one-year suspended sentence. It is interesting to note however that Adlesic had claimed innocence throughout the trial.