The Debrecen Court held a preparatory hearing in the case of two defendants who have been indicted for attempted murder committed against a person under the age of fourteen, as well as for other crimes.
According to the indictment, the mother (the second defendant) had previously lived in Hajdúszoboszló with her husband, but the relationship deteriorated and in September 2023 she moved out. She then met the man (the child’s father, the first defendant), with whom she lived in a common-law relationship, first in Pécs and then in Hajdúszoboszló. In October 2024, their child was born, and the court later legally established the man’s paternity.
Because the baby was fed with formula, he often had stomach aches and cried a lot. This especially affected the father, who regularly helped with childcare after work, but became increasingly tense and irritable due to the constant crying. His patience gradually wore thin, and his behavior grew rougher.
He assaulted the baby more and more violently
In November 2024, when the child was six weeks old, the first serious incident occurred: during bathing, the infant slipped from the father’s arms, and he reflexively grabbed him tightly around the ribs. As a result, the child suffered a rib fracture. When the baby started crying, the father became upset and threw him onto the crib mattress. The mother confronted her partner, who admitted he was exhausted and apologized. Shortly afterward, on November 26, the father again threw the crying child into the crib.
At the beginning of December, the situation worsened. During bathing, the father shouted at the baby, hit him several times, and then placed him on top of the freezer with such force that the infant’s head hit against it. A few days later, on December 3, when the baby started crying again, the father assaulted him once more: he hit him, shook him repeatedly, and pressed him down with such force during diapering that his head banged. The baby lost consciousness as a result of the violence but regained it after chest compressions. The next day, the parents took him to a doctor, but they concealed the abuse and only reported loss of appetite and seizures.
He could have died
The baby’s condition worsened, so he was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Debrecen Clinic. Examinations revealed a skull fracture, subdural bleeding, and multiple traumatic injuries. The injuries required more than eight days to heal, were life-threatening, and carried the risk of death.
The mother is also responsible
The mother had on several occasions witnessed her partner abusing or shouting at the child but did nothing to prevent the acts. She also failed to notify the authorities, and her negligence contributed to endangering the child. There were also occasions when she herself failed to ensure the baby’s safety—for example, leaving him alone in the crib.
The indictment is supported by the parents’ partial confessions, witness testimonies, on-site inspection reports, medical documentation, and expert opinions. According to the prosecution, the father committed the crime of attempted murder against a person under the age of fourteen, as well as child endangerment, while the mother is guilty of child endangerment.
The court sentenced the father to 12 years in prison and the mother to 2 years of suspended imprisonment.
