A 32-year-old man remanded in custody on suspicion of attempting to kill his two-week-old son has died in Oulu prison, police said on Tuesday.
Police received information of the man’s death at about 7am. Officers stated that no crime is suspected in connection with the death. Authorities have opened an inquest to determine the cause.
The man had appeared before Oulu District Court on Monday. The court ordered his detention on suspicion of attempted murder.
Prosecutors also charged him separately with rape in a case filed in mid-February. The court had not yet heard that matter.
Police arrested the suspect in the early hours of Friday after receiving an emergency call from a neighbour. The caller reported that the man had assaulted his partner and their newborn child at a block of flats near central Oulu.
Investigators first examined the case as aggravated assault. During questioning and evidence gathering, police reclassified the suspected offence against the infant as attempted murder.
According to police, officers suspected that the father threw the two-week-old baby onto a concrete floor in the building’s stairwell. The child sustained serious injuries and remains in hospital. Police have not released further details about the infant’s condition.
The suspect also faced allegations of assaulting the child’s 26-year-old mother. Police said her injuries were less severe than those suffered by the baby.
The man worked as a musician. Records show that creditors had pursued him in civil proceedings for unpaid debts amounting to tens of thousands of euros.
Police continue to investigate the suspected attempted murder of the infant and the alleged assault of the mother despite the suspect’s death.
HT