X-rays confirmed what doctors feared. The 5-month-old baby found dead on Saturday, September 7 at his parents’ home in Brest (Finistère) was indeed the victim of violence. According to the public prosecutor, the father half-heartedly admitted to violence against his very young child. Violence that likely led to the baby’s death, even if the precise causes could not be identified. “During his interviews, the child’s father ended up indicating that the child had already had bruises. He admitted that he had unintentionally caused the injuries and bone fractures observed. He explained that he had carried out certain brutal actions on the child without realizing his strength,” reported prosecutor Camille Miansoni.
The examinations carried out on the infant leave little room for doubt. They revealed “numerous bone lesions of different ages” but also fractures “compatible with external action”. Alerted by the parents, the firefighters could only note the death of the child on Saturday shortly before 1 p.m., citing the “suspicious circumstances of this death”.
Also heard by investigators from the judicial police, the child’s mother acknowledged that her partner had “inappropriate actions in caring for the child”. Facts confirmed by those close to her, who mentioned the hematomas found on the baby during the first months of his short life. “Despite these observations, the mother had refrained from reporting the facts or consulting a doctor”, specifies the Brest prosecutor.
Father in prison, mother under control
The child’s father, a 28-year-old man, was charged with violence resulting in death without intent to cause it. A crime punishable by thirty years of criminal imprisonment, said the prosecution, which placed the accused in pretrial detention. As for the child’s mother, she is being prosecuted for failure to report ill-treatment. She was placed under judicial supervision.