Boy, 7, Dies After Suspected Abuse; Mother, Uncle Held
A 7-year-old boy was found dead in an apartment in Merchtem, Flemish Brabant, Belgium, in what authorities suspect was a case of child abuse. The boy’s 24-year-old uncle has been arrested on suspicion of murder, while his 27-year-old mother and a 22-year-old friend of the mother face charges of failure to render assistance, according to VRT NWS.
Emergency services were called to the apartment in the Korte Ridderstraat in the night from Wednesday to Thursday. “Attempts were made to resuscitate the child, but to no avail. Just before 1 AM, the attending MUG doctor confirmed the child’s death,” said Sabine Lievens, spokesperson for the Halle-Vilvoorde prosecutor’s office, as reported by Persinfo.
Autopsy Confirms Injuries Compatible with Child Abuse
The child had visible injuries and bruises that were apparent immediately after death, prompting investigators to treat the case as suspicious. A forensic doctor examined the body on site before an autopsy was performed.
“The boy had several injuries that could be compatible with child abuse,” Lievens said, according to HLN. “The forensic doctor also concluded that the child died from those injuries. No weapon appears to have been used: no gunshot or stab wounds were found on the child.”
Three Adults Present at the Scene
When emergency services arrived, three adults were present alongside the boy: his mother, her brother (the boy’s uncle), and a friend of the mother. Only the uncle was registered at the Merchtem address. The mother and child were registered in Denderleeuw, East Flanders, but had been living with the uncle in Merchtem for approximately two months, according to the prosecutor’s office.
All three were arrested on Thursday morning and interrogated. The uncle was brought before the investigating judge on suspicion of murder, while the mother and her friend face charges of failure to render assistance. The prosecutor’s office has requested their detention.
“They did not provide help, even though they could have done so without danger to their own lives,” Lievens said of the two women’s alleged failure to act.
Neighbor Recounts Desperate Screams
A neighbor, Marie-Jeanne, who lives in the adjacent property, described hearing loud screaming on the night of the incident. “I heard loud screaming between ten and eleven in the evening,” she told HLN. “A moment later I heard the mother shouting: ‘My baby, my baby, no, no.’ That went through bone and marrow.”
Marie-Jeanne said she regularly saw the boy sitting at the window and would wave to him. “He often sat at the window. I regularly waved at him and he always waved back friendly. He was a good boy,” she said. “I often heard the father shouting at the boy and his mother.”
The neighbor noted that the father was not present at the time of the incident.
No Prior Reports of Intrafamilial Violence
According to the prosecutor’s office, there were no prior reports of intrafamilial violence involving the family. The mother and uncle were known to police, but not for intrafamilial violence. The boy was an only child and was not known to the juvenile prosecutor’s offices of East Flanders or Halle-Vilvoorde.
The federal police forensic lab conducted an extensive investigation of the apartment throughout the night and Thursday morning. The investigation is ongoing, and the exact sequence of events leading to the boy’s death remains unclear.
Mayor of Merchtem Maarten Mast said the municipality had limited information about the case. “We actually have no information, except that it concerns a 7-year-old boy and that the investigation is ongoing,” he said, as reported by VRT NWS.
What’s Next
The three suspects were to be brought before the investigating judge on Friday, with the prosecutor requesting their detention. The judicial investigation will need to establish what exactly happened in the apartment in the hours before the boy’s death and determine the respective roles of each suspect. As the case proceeds through the Belgian judicial system, further details are expected to emerge.