Spain's Guardia Civil says it took 40-year-old Katharina Katit-Staheli into custody yesterday, along with her infant son, in Torrevieja on the Mediterranean coast.
A statement today said police were acting on an arrest warrant issued by Zurich authorities after the mother allegedly took her child, who suffered from a brain abnormality, without authorization from a specialist Swiss clinic.
Police said they took mother and child to a local hospital because the infant required medical attention. There, the woman allegedly grabbed a knife and slashed the boy's throat. Police say officers prevented her from killing herself but she was reported to be in serious condition.