A father (40) and a mother (36) from Helvoirt heard today that 6 years in prison is demanded for the death of their newborn baby. They gave him insufficient food, causing the boy to die of malnutrition 17 days after his birth. According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), manslaughter can be proven.
From the file, it appears that the parents did not take good care of the child after birth. When breastfeeding did not go well, they did not opt for regular baby food from the store, but for a mixture of soy powder and so-called demiwater. This is water from which all salts and minerals have been filtered out. Despite the warning on the packaging that this type of water is unsuitable for consumption, the parents still chose to give it to their child. The warning on the labels was, according to them, disinformation. They are convinced that it is the purest type of water that exists. They also gave him, as part of their own diet, mushrooms.
Contact with Agencies Was Avoided
The parents did not allow their child to be medically checked after a complicated birth by, for example, doctors or the consultation bureau. According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), they did this because they were afraid that their son, like an earlier child, would be taken away by the authorities. “Everything indicates that the defendants only sought contact with agencies in their own interest, for example, to obtain a birth certificate to be able to register it. They did not do this in the interest of their sons health,” said the public prosecutor.
High Prison Sentence
According to the public prosecutor, only a long prison sentence is an appropriate punishment for the couple. “Both parents have committed a horrific criminal act. The boy was effectively starved in the 17 days he lived. A horrific death. It greatly disturbs me that both defendants have not taken any responsibility for their actions to this day. There is a complete absence of remorse. On the contrary: both defendants claim that something must have been wrong with their child that explains the death. It would have nothing to do with their own actions or the food they provided.”
