Father facing nine years in prison for allegedly shaking his newborn baby to death

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) recommended nine years in prison on Wednesday in the court in Breda against Finn H. (21) from Breda, accused in the death of his seven-week-old baby. He is accused of shaking the baby hard, and hitting the baby's head against an object. He denies the charges.

H. explained that he panicked on March 29, 2023, because the baby was not opening his eyes, was groaning, and did not want a bottle. "I tried to shake him awake." The baby's mother called the doctor's office after she was shocked at how cold the child was, and by how pale the baby looked. The boy died in the hospital two days later, but there seemed to be no adverse health issues on March 28.

It turned out that the boy had four broken ribs and brain damage. The doctor thinks that the brain injuries must have happened on the evening of March 28. H. had put his son to bed, and was also the first to get him out of bed the following morning. The chances that the wounds have been inflicted are much more likely than that they happened by accident, according to specialists. "I have no idea what has happened," the suspect said.

H. is said to have confessed that he "shook" his son in an emotional conversation which investigators overheard. However, the OM said he tried to walk back his confession during later questioning. "It would have been to his credit if he had opened up here in court," the prosecutor said.

The OM claims that H. used violence on the boy's head and body. With this, he took the risk that the boy could die. The prosecutor also recommended that the suspect remain under supervision after his prison sentence.

H. and the woman had already had a child together. That was an easier baby, according to H. He said the period after the second baby's birth was very stressful. He admitted that he had dropped the baby by accident when it was five and a half weeks old.

His attorney claims that it is not clear that H. caused the fatal injuries. The mother was the aggressor, WhatsApp messages allegedly show. "There was no investigation into her whereabouts that night." The lawyer is requesting an acquittal.

The court's verdict will be announced on July 11.