Hong Kong couple arrested over murder of 14-month-old baby girl, after child found with crescent-shaped marks on neck
- Man and woman in their 30s found in emotionally unstable state in their village house after police and emergency teams forced their way in upon receiving report
- Baby was found lying on floor in another room, covered with towel and pack of diapers over body
Hong Kong police have arrested a couple over the murder of their 14-month-old baby in Yuen Long, after the child was found with multiple crescent-shaped marks on her neck.
The husband, 33, and wife, 32, both jobless, were detained on Friday night. Firefighters and police had broken into their village house in Pat Heung and found the victim lying motionless on the floor in one room.
The man has a record of mental illness, according to police.
The force on Saturday said the girl was found with neck injuries and certified dead at the scene.
Assistant District Commander Gary Lam Hing-cheung said that at about 9.20pm on Friday, police received a report from a man, 67, who had failed to contact his 32-year-old daughter and was worried about his granddaughter’s safety.
Lam said officers rushed to the family’s village house in Yuen Long’s Shui Tau Tsuen and found the couple in one room and the baby girl on the floor in another.
Mother, 24, arrested after baby found dead with neck wounds in Hong Kong
“The couple appeared to be in a panic and emotionally unstable. They kept evading our questions about the baby,” he said. “When we found the baby lying on the floor in another room, she was covered by a towel with a pack of diapers placed on top of her body.”
Lam said more than 10 crescent-shaped marks were found on the child’s neck and were believed to have been caused by fingernails.
“So far there is nothing to suggest they are old scars and we have yet to establish who inflicted the injuries,” he said.
“The skin colour of the baby’s face, head and upper part had changed,” the officer added, noting also that there were signs of livor mortis – pooling of blood in the body under gravity and lack of circulation – on her back.
“We believe she died in the last one to three days,” Lam said. A postmortem will be conducted on the body.
He added that the couple had been married for seven years, and police would look into criminal motives as well as the suspects’ mental state and physical state.
As of Saturday, the pair were still in custody and under investigation.
