Father in his 30s arrested for neglecting his 17-month-old daughter... Cause of death ‘presumed nutritional deficiency’ (Comprehensive 2nd report)

(Suwon = Yonhap News) Reporters Lee Young-ju and Kwon Jun-woo = A father in his 30s was arrested on charges of neglect and causing the death of his 17-month-old daughter by leaving her at home alone while going to work and only feeding her formula twice a day.

The first autopsy findings from the National Institute of Forensic Science also revealed that the cause of death of the child was presumed to be nutritional deficiency.

On the 30th, Judge Kim Gyu-hwa, in charge of warrants at the Pyeongtaek branch of the Suwon District Court, conducted a pre-arrest interrogation (warrant substantive examination) of Mr. A, who is suspected of child abuse and death, and issued an arrest warrant, saying, "There are concerns that he may escape and evidence may be destroyed."

Mr. A is accused of causing the death of his 17-month-old daughter, Miss B, at their home in Pyeongtaek after his wife left the house after an argument early this month, by leaving her alone at home and not taking proper care of her for about 10 days, including giving her only formula milk twice a day.

He directly reported to 119 around 10 p.m. on the 28th, saying, “The baby is not breathing.”

Ms. B, who was taken to the hospital, was not found to have suffered any significant trauma, such as an assault, but it was reported that she was severely malnourished and thinner than her peers at the time.

The police, who were dispatched after being notified by the hospital, which found this condition suspicious, and requested a joint response from the fire department, confirmed the circumstances with Mr. A at the scene. The police urgently arrested Mr. A at the hospital after he admitted to some of the circumstances of neglect.

In a police investigation, Mr. A, an office worker, reportedly stated, "I left my child alone when I went to work because I had no one to take care of him," and "I fed him formula twice a day, once before going to work and once after work."

The Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency's Women and Youth Crime Investigation Department announced on this day that it had received the first verbal opinion from the National Forensic Service, which conducted the autopsy of Ms. B's body, that "the cause of death is presumed to be due to nutritional deficiency."

No injuries, such as fractures or bruises, that could be suspected of assault or physical abuse were found on the body.

The specific cause of death and detailed physical condition, including weight at the time, will be finally confirmed through a detailed autopsy report from the National Forensic Service that will be returned later.

There were no past reports of child abuse against this family, and no video recording devices such as home cameras were installed inside the house.

Based on the findings of this first autopsy, the police plan to focus on questioning whether Mr. A was aware of the risk of nutritional deficiency but neglected it, while conducting digital forensics on the confiscated mobile phone to compare his actual activities, such as whether he returned home every day and took care of Miss B as stated.

We plan to investigate the circumstances of the incident and whether the biological mother, who left the home, is responsible for neglect.