Parents accused of murdering their 9-month-old daughter were arrested for 3 months pending trial - the District Court in Suwałki informed on Monday. The prosecutor charged them with abuse of an infant and murder.
The court approved of the prosecutor's arguments and granted the permission for temporary arrest of the suspects, a woman and a man - the court's spokesperson told Polish Press Agency (PAP).
He added that the arrest decision was necessary due to potential severe punishment and high probability of the suspects' culpability. He pointed out that the inquiry is in early stages and the evidence is still being collected. He also informed that the suspects gave statements before the court but he refused to confirm whether or not they had pleaded guilty or to provide any details of their testimony.
The cause of death of the child was internal haemorrhage and brain damage - Ryszard Tomkiewicz from the District Prosecutor's Office in Suwałki said on Monday.
He explained that the parents had heard two charges. First one was the abuse of the girl that lasted since April 2019, that is when the child had returned to its biological parents from a foster family. The abuse was mostly hitting the child in various body parts.
The second was a murder charge. The girl died as a result of blunt force trauma. The autopsy showed that the child's heart was punctured by a broken rib. The prosecution did not specify what exact instrument was used to beat the child, but it could have been a hammer or a rolling pin. It's possible that the girl was also hit against the egde of a desk or table. The child suffered an internal haemorrhage and brain damage. She was also raped.
The prosecutor said that both the 35-year-old mother and the 45-year-old father pleaded not guilty during the interrogation and after being charged.
He also said that the parents had no criminal records. The 35-year-old woman is a mother to three other children, all with different partners. The children live their biological fathers. The prosecutor added that the attorney who had been called by the woman was the one who informed the police about the child's death.
The spokesperson for police in Olecko, Justyna Sznel told PAP on Saturday that the police had been notified about the child's death on Friday around 8 pm. The doctor called in by the police confirmed the the death of the infant.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: tvn24