Brno court condemns parents for newborn's death: mother sentenced to eight years
The Regional Court in Brno has sentenced parents for the abuse of a newborn daughter, who died in February 2024. The mother was given eight years in prison, the father six years.
Parents condemned for newborn's death, mother to serve eight years in prison
The Regional Court in Brno has today imposed prison sentences on both parents in the case of a newborn's death from February 2024. The mother was given eight years for the abuse of an entrusted person, the father six years. Czech newspapers reported this.
According to the ruling, the parents grossly neglected the nutrition and hygiene of their newborn daughter. They failed to provide her with medical care and did not register the child with a paediatrician. Both faced up to twelve years' imprisonment. The decision is not final — both sides retained the period to lodge potential appeals.
The court also imposed on both defendants an obligation to pay approximately 250,000 crowns as non-pecuniary damages to six related children. They remain at large while under investigation, with the woman currently pregnant again.
The girl was born on 31 January 2024 and died on 13 February. The mother left hospital with her daughter approximately three hours after giving birth, without the child being provided with proper medical care. Due to an underdeveloped immune system, the girl contracted pneumonia and heart inflammation, suffered from hunger, thirst, and severe pain caused by extensive bedsores.
The parents demonstrably failed to care properly for the newborn from at least 9 February onwards, when health changes were already visible on the child. After birth, the girl weighed approximately three kilogrammes; on the day of her death, she weighed 900 grammes less — she had thus lost roughly one-third of her body weight.
The child's illness manifested severely in the final days on her skin with red patches and severe bedsores, because the parents did not change the girl's nappies. Despite this, they did not seek a doctor. "Only on the day of her death did they call the emergency service, when the minor was turning blue and could not breathe. The emergency medical service that was called could not prevent death despite the expert help provided," said judge Hana Kurfiřtová.
The judge emphasised that it was not intentional, but negligence. Both defendants left the girl completely at the mercy of infection. "No one dealt with it. All they had to do was get up and go to the doctor. It was solvable," added Kurfiřtová.
Source: České noviny