Did a father abuse his son?

For the public prosecutor it is clear that only the father is responsible for the death of an eight-month-old boy. But the Zurich Supreme Court has doubts.

In the children’s hospital in Zurich, the child succumbed to injuries that, according to the doctors, were probably caused by shaking.

Karen Hofer

Shortly before noon, the baby at the Zurich Children’s Hospital stopped breathing. It is August 2, 2019, the child is only eight months old. Due to the circumstances of his death, there are quickly dark suspicions.

The boy had been hospitalized a week earlier with life-threatening head injuries. After initial examinations, the doctors suspected that someone had shaken the child. The autopsy finally showed that the boy had massive injuries. Bleeding in the brain, old broken ribs and a broken forearm. All signs of child abuse.

But who was responsible for this? The Zurich Supreme Court had to answer this question on Wednesday.

The investigators soon focused on one person in particular: the father. He had looked after the baby and his brother on the day the child’s mother went to work.

“Why didn’t he call the ambulance?”

Prosecutor Adrian Kaegi explained in his indictment what had happened from the point of view of the investigators: The father had grabbed his son with both hands and shook him. This caused the infant’s head to be thrown forwards and backwards several times. As a result of the man’s actions, the child suffered such serious head injuries that he died as a result.

The child twitched, turned pale and rolled his eyes. Nevertheless, the accused failed to alert an emergency doctor. It was only the mother who finally dialed the emergency number when she noticed that the child was unwell. She then drove to the hospital with the ambulance, but the accused waived it.

According to Kaegi, none other than the father could be the perpetrator. He asked, “Why didn’t he call the ambulance when his son jerked and rolled his eyes?” Such behavior makes every reasonable thinking person act immediately.

The criminal case affects him himself, the act is frightening and incomprehensible. Kaegi therefore demanded a guilty verdict and a prison sentence of ten years for first degree, attempted first degree and simple bodily harm.

The accused himself remained silent in court. The 46-year-old Swiss told the judge that he had already testified in detail several times as part of the investigation.

His defense attorney Caroline Ehlert did the talking. She asked for an acquittal for her client. There is simply no evidence that he abused his son. The lawyer did not spare criticism of the actions of the public prosecutor. This was biased. “When the child was taken to the children’s hospital, the perpetrator was already identified.” It was not about finding out the truth, but simply about proving their client’s guilt.

Everything that spoke for the innocence of her client was excluded from the prosecution, criticized Ehlert. Important witnesses were not questioned and the documents were incomplete. It is not even certain that the boy actually suffered the injuries listed in the reports.

The boy, who was born prematurely, was also in the neonatology department for more than three months and was also ventilated there. Later he had to be treated several times in the hospital. It is therefore unclear what exactly led to the death of the child. Damage caused by the premature birth and various minor accidents could also be the cause, said the defender. The accused also credibly described that the child had hit its head on the changing table when it fell.

The court sees doubts not dispelled

The lower court acquitted the child’s father of the allegations in June 2021. At the time, the district court in Hinwil held that there was insurmountable doubt that the crimes had taken place as described by the prosecution.

The Supreme Court followed this verdict on Wednesday evening and also acquitted the 46-year-old. The presiding judge said at the oral verdict: “It cannot be determined without a doubt what happened in the run-up to July 26, 2019 and what led to the tragic death of the child.” Alternative explanations for what happened were also conceivable. The reports could neither confirm nor rule out a shaking trauma.

The judge said the medical records did not show that the violent shaking was responsible for the eight-month-old boy’s death. “There is a good chance that a fall on the head and the resulting injuries resulted in death.”

Against the background of the tragic events, it also seems understandable that the man kept coming up with new theories to explain his son’s injuries. In addition, neither the partner nor other witnesses made incriminating statements during the interviews.

The case is not yet closed. Prosecutor Adrian Kaegi announced that he is now examining a move to the Federal Supreme Court.

Judgment SB 210 581 of September 21, 2022, not yet final

source site-111