Ming Ting says she asked her husband to kill her

Ming Ting Mancel says she asked her husband to kill her after she was unable to take her own life. “He missed, so I am still alive, unfortunately,” she said in an interview with mbl.is.

It is her first interview since she was sentenced to 12 years in prison for killing her daughter, Catherine Mancel, at the Edition hotel in Reykjavík in June 2025, in collaboration with her husband. Ming Ting was not charged with involvement in her husband’s death.

In the two-part interview with Sigursteinn Másson for the series True Crime, shown on Síminn Premium, Ming Ting discusses the case and what led up to it. She said the family, who lived in Ireland, travelled to Iceland intending to die together.

According to Ming Ting, the idea arose because her husband had developed an illness after Covid that affected his cognitive ability, and he did not want to live that way. She said she decided to join him and that they let their daughter decide whether she wanted to do the same.

The indictment alleged that the couple held their daughter down, put a noose around her neck and constricted her airway for a considerable time, causing pinpoint haemorrhages on her neck and face. It also alleged that they stabbed her twice in the chest, with one wound reaching her heart.

Mancel has maintained that her daughter participated willingly and wanted to die first.

This article discusses suicide. People experiencing suicidal thoughts can call Iceland’s primary care information line on 1700, use the online chat at heilsuvera.is, contact the Red Cross helpline on 1717 or use its online chat at 1717.is. The Píeta helpline is available on 552-2218.