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Court orders mother accused of killing her baby to undergo psychological evaluation | Yle News
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Court orders mother accused of killing her baby to undergo psychological evaluation | Yle News

Police suspect the eight-month-old child died of malnutrition and dehydration between May and June 2024.

In court, a suspect tries to hide his face from photographers with a piece of paper.

The defendant denied killing his young child. Image: Lehtikuva

The Helsinki District Court decided to try a 41-year-old woman. Murder suspicion of eight-month-old childwill be subjected to psychological evaluation.

The court decided to postpone the case until the evaluation was completed.

The evaluation will try to determine whether the woman understands her actions that allegedly led to the child’s death.

The incident first came to police attention in June when the suspect called emergency services due to the health condition of his eight-month-old child. Police teams arrived at the scene and found the baby dead when they arrived at the scene.

Police believe the child died from malnutrition and dehydration between May and June 2024.

The mother lived with her child in Vuosaari, a district in the east of Helsinki, and neighbors had previously contacted emergency services due to concerns about the baby’s health.

When The trial started on October 8The woman denied killing the child or committing any crime. Defense counsel told the court that the defendant suffered from postpartum depression, fatigue and anxiety. The lawyer stated that the child also had some health problems.

The defense urged the court to find the woman guilty of the lesser charge of reckless homicide, arguing that the child’s death did not meet the threshold for murder because it was not intentional, brutal or cruel.

However, the prosecutor in the case claimed that the woman’s negligence led to the slow and painful death of the baby and told the court that the defendant did not provide her child with enough food and drink and also shook the baby.