Mystery surrounds the death of a Portuguese baby in France – miles from his biological parents.
The story in the press so far is that a Portuguese couple living in Hers, Toulouse, has been detained by French authorities following the death of a two-year-old baby named as Leonardo.
Leonardo died from heart failure, reports French newspaper La Depeche. But a bruise on his head alerted hospital staff who then called in the authorities.
A 24-year-old woman has since been arrested and detained in preventive custody accused of voluntary homicide (murder), reports noticiasaominuto, while her partner – a 29-year-old Portuguese man – has been released on the understanding that he reports regularly to police and remains at the family address. The man is reported to be facing the accusation that he did not give help to a child at risk.
The trouble is that the family may not be not what neighbours thought it was.
While La Depeche appears to make no mention of “little Leonardo” being the child of different parents, noticiasaominuto ends its report with the words: “Apart from what caused the subdural hematoma, it remains to be explained why little Leonardo was in Toulouse when his biological parents reside in Portugal”.
The child was admitted to hospital last Saturday, both papers explain – and although a friend of the couple claims he suffered respiratory problems, “initial exams have discarded these as the cause of death” due to the discovery of the head injury.
Investigations continue, and we will update as news comes through.
Initial reports suggest the woman “shouted for help” at the couple’s home as the man performed CPR on the child, following instructions given over the phone from local firemen.
Why the man now faces an accusation of not providing assistance to a child at risk is another ‘mystery’ in the story so far.
