Parents in custody

Baby shaken to death: Father denies violence

The Vienna General Hospital

(Bild: Martin A. Jöchl)

After the terrible death of an infant, who presumably died as a result of a shaking trauma at the beginning of February, the suspected murderer father denies ever having used violence against his children. The 26-year-old mother of the child remains silent, as does her defense lawyer. 

The father of an infant who died in Vienna at the beginning of February, presumably as a result of a shaking trauma, cannot explain the death of the little boy. His defense lawyer Astrid Wagner considers him "innocent", as she said on Wednesday after a visit to the 29-year-old detained in the Josefstadt prison. The man and his 26-year-old mother are both in custody and the public prosecutor's office is investigating both of them for murder.

"Violation of the hospital"
While the mother and her defence lawyer Liane Hirschbrich have not yet commented on the suspected case, the father's legal representative emphasized that he denies having used violence against his children. In addition to the son, who died three months ago, there is a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter who now lives with crisis foster parents. "He is not incriminating the mother either", Wagner emphasized. The injuries that led to the baby's death are a mystery to her client: "He believes something happened in the hospital during the rescue operations."

He believes something happened at the hospital during the rescue operations.

Astrid Wagner, Verteidigerin des Vaters

The 26-year-old mother had visited a hospital with the baby at 11 p.m. on February 3 because there was allegedly a medical emergency. "There had already been problems with the child in the past. It was conspicuous, it was a convulsive child," said Wagner. The parents had therefore repeatedly sought medical help.

Hospital alerted police
On February 3, however, all help came too late for the little boy. At the time of his admission to hospital, he had probably already lost all brain function due to injuries that were not visible on the outside. Three days later, the life-support equipment was switched off and the boy was declared dead.

The hospital subsequently alerted the police after an MRI examination revealed brain injuries typically indicative of a so-called shaking trauma. The small body also showed a broken arm and a broken rib.

The written autopsy report requested by the public prosecutor's office to clarify the exact cause of death is not yet available. The next regular trial date for the parents is the end of March.