Court cuts sentence for killing granddaughter’s newborn

Zemgale Regional Court has reduced to nine years and 11 months the prison sentence of a woman accused of taking her granddaughter’s newborn and killing the baby. LSM reported the ruling, citing the LETA news agency and the court.

The woman was also given three years of probation supervision. The court ordered her to pay the victim 2,150 euros in compensation. She had previously been sentenced to 18 years in prison.

The case was reheard after the Supreme Court overturned the earlier appeal ruling. It said the ruling had not established that the newborn’s body was desecrated during its destruction.

According to the accusation, the woman wanted to conceal her granddaughter’s pregnancy and the birth. She allegedly delivered the baby herself, despite having no relevant qualification to assist with childbirth, and the child was born alive. The accusation says she took the newborn from the home while the young mother was unconscious and helpless, then killed the baby at an unknown place and in unknown circumstances and destroyed the body. The child’s sex was not established.

The woman had been angry about her granddaughter’s relationships with men, according to the accusation.