Published June 21, 2021 at 5:05 pm
Domestic. three-year-old Esmeralde, known as “Little Heart”, was found dead at the end of January 2020 by the police in an apartment in Norrköping. The Court of Appeal now sentences the girl's 40-year-old mother for murder and sharply increases the sentence to imprisonment for eight years.
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Norrköping District Court previously sentenced the mother for, among other things, grossly causing another person's death to imprisonment for 1 year and 9 months.
The verdict was appealed to the Court of Appeal by the prosecutor and the woman claims that she is innocent .
After a seven-day trial, the Court of Appeal has ruled on the 40-year-old's criminal liability for the incident that led to her daughter's death.
The forensic examination shows that Little Heart had suffered an injury to her head that led to her death. Contributing to the death was that the girl had been given drug-classified preparations. Since it is unclear how the girl was injured, the Court of Appeal is based on what both parents have told the police that the girl hit her head in an accident in the bathroom. According to the court, it may have been the case that the drug was administered to the girl in a failed attempt to help her.
As a starting point, the little heart's life could have been saved if it had been ensured that she received medical care, for example through such a simple measure as calling 112.
The evidence shows that the mother knew that the daughter had been injured. so bad that she risked dying. Despite this, the girl did not receive medical care but died at home 2-15 hours after the accident. According to the Court of Appeal, the mother had a so-called guarantee position in relation to her daughter and can therefore be held criminally liable for not ensuring that the girl received help.
The Court of Appeal has concluded that the 40-year-old had what is known as an intention of indifference to the girl dying. The prosecutor has proved that the mother when the incident took place was indifferent to the fact that the daughter would die as a result of her not ensuring that the girl received care.
The Court of Appeal therefore convicts the woman of having intentionally killed her daughter.
According to the court, the circumstances are special because the mother after a sudden accident did not make sure that her daughter received help. The crime can therefore be seen as manslaughter, which is a lesser crime than murder.
However, the Court of Appeal also acquits 40-year-olds of charges for extremely serious assault and breach of the peace.
to imprisonment for eight years. The punishment also includes the drug offense and the minor drug offense for which she was convicted already at the district court. She will be detained and remain in custody until the prison sentence is enforced.
The deceased girl's two brothers will receive higher damages in the Court of Appeal.