A six-year-old boy has been accused of killing a premature baby on a maternity ward after his parents let him roam free.
Newborn Zayneb-Cassandra died on Tuesday after suffering a catastrophic head injury at Jeanne-de-Flandre Children’s Hospital in the northern city in Lille France.
She was allegedly dropped on the floor by the boy, whose mother was also delivering a baby, who ‘treated her like a doll’ on Friday.
Zayneb-Cassandra was the first child to a 23-year-old woman, and was born via c-section seven and a half months premature.
She was left alone in the neonatal unit while the mum recovered on the maternity ward when the boy entered her room.
Other patients had already complained about the child, who they said was a ‘disruptive presence’ and went into other patients’ rooms unattended.
Zayneb’s grandmother told the Voix du Nord newspaper: ‘The boy would arrive at 7am and spend all day running up and down the hallways.
‘All the mothers were complaining, and a nurse even warned the child’s mother that there was a problem. He was entering the other rooms.
‘He also entered Zayneb’s room for the first time. He said she looked like a doll, and my husband, who was there, took him out.’
The family were signing the new mum’s discharge papers when they received a call from the ward manager who said: ‘A little boy had been playing with the baby, who had fallen.’
Zayneb was found unresponsive on the floor next to the boy who was say in a chair.
She was rushed to intensive care but was declared dead on Tuesday.
An investigation has been opened by the juvenile unit of the Lille Judicial Police Service.
‘Investigations are currently underway in this case,’ said a spokesman for Lille prosecutors.
The hospital also announced the opening of ‘an internal administrative investigation’.
A spokesman said: ‘This human tragedy has deeply affected the staff and teams of Lille University Children’s Hospital, as well as the other families present.’
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