A nurse has gone on trial for slitting her two young children’s throats with a scalpel to punish her ex-partner.

The incident took place in the northern Argentine province of Tucuman when the defendant, who has been named as Nadia Fucilieri, 33, allegedly slit the throats of her two children, aged two and four, with a scalpel to “cause suffering” to her ex-partner in 2017, and she has now gone on trial.

Hours before the trial began, Aldo Martinez, the woman’s ex-partner, told local media outlet Telefe Tucuman: “We were happy and nothing made me think that it could end like this.”

But he added: “I did see perverse things in her, but I thought they were psychological issues.”

The defendant, who was a nurse and obstetrician, has been under house arrest and has been provided with psychiatric assistance after she allegedly tried to kill herself by cutting her arms and injuring her throat.

However, the grief stricken dad’s lawyer, Silvia Furque, insisted that the defendant acted with premeditation and was perfectly aware of what she was doing.

He said: “She was evaluated by psychiatrists who never saw any trace of a psychotic break to do what she did.”

He added: “There was a preparatory act, she bought a scalpel, gloves, prepared a letter, even announced it when she told Aldo that he would not see his children again.”

The couple had reportedly separated a few months before the gruesome murders took place.

The woman accused her partner of domestic abuse and obtained a restraining order, which was about to be reversed when the double murder happened after Martinez convinced the authorities that he was a worthy father.

It is alleged that on the night of 3rd to 4th October 2017, Fucilieri purchased the scalpel, gloves and other items from a pharmacy before heading to her children’s bedroom.

She allegedly murdered her four-year-old son Marcelino first before killing her two-year-old daughter Pia del Rosario, who was asleep at the time of the attack.

Before allegedly killing her children, she had taken the time to write a note to her ex.

She allegedly wrote: “Son of a bitch, now you are going to feel guilty… You are going to pay for every drop of blood shed by your children… You are never going to live in peace… Neither you nor your family.”

The defendant is on trial for double murder, aggravated by three elements including the family link between the victims and the defendant, treachery, and the ulterior purpose of causing suffering to her ex-partner.

The defence has asked for the acquittal of the defendant on the grounds that she was “not aware of her actions the day the event occurred”, according to her lawyer Gustavo Morales.

Murder in Argentina carries a penalty of a maximum of 30 years in prison.

The trial is ongoing.