Five-week-old child ‘drowned by mum in tub’ after ‘argument between dad and mom’
A five-week-old baby was allegedly drowned in a bath by her own mother following a dispute between her parents, prosecutors claim.
The 31-year-old woman reportedly confessed to the crime after fleeing her flat in France and being apprehended by police. The child’s death has left the town of Bayeux, Normandy, in shock following the incident on the night of November 14.
Local reports suggest a row erupted between the couple on Friday evening, continuing into the early hours of Saturday. The father is said to have left the flat after the argument. It was then that the mother is alleged to have drowned the infant in the flat’s bathtub, according to ICI Normandie.
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Prosecutor Joël Garrigue stated: “After the argument, the father went outside to calm down.” He added: “It was then that she killed her child.”
He further explained: “She then texted her partner to tell him what she had done. He returned to the apartment, but she had gone out in the meantime.”
Police found her wandering the streets of Bayeux just 10 minutes later. Following her arrest, prosecutors say she “confessed to the crime”.
The baby, born only weeks ago at Bayeux maternity hospital, was one of few births in a town with a population of just 12,000. Deputy mayor Arnaud Tanquerel expressed the community’s disbelief, saying: “Everyone is in shock. There are only a few births a month.”
The baby’s mother is set to be placed in pre-trial detention when she appears before a judge. Garrigue announced: “A judicial investigation will be opened [this] afternoon for the murder of a minor under fifteen years of age.”
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The mother now faces the prospect of life imprisonment if found guilty of murdering a minor.
Prosecutors have called for her immediate incarceration.
It comes as a murder investigation has been launched after a child’s head was discovered in a backpack in a pond, with the neck of the tragic boy “covered in bruises”.
The head of the dead boy, who is believed to be aged between seven and 10, was found in Golyanovsky Pond in Moscow, Russia. A murder probe has been sparked and investigators are at the scene to investigate the tragic discovery. The prosecutor’s office is overseeing the probe.
The preliminary cause of the boy’s death is currently asphyxia, a condition where the body is deprived of oxygen. According to Baza, marks and bruises were found on the child’s neck, confirming the theory of forced strangulation.
He is believed to have died more than two days ago. Currently, only the boy’s head has been found and divers are continuing to search for the rest of the body.
The boy’s identity remains unknown.
