A couple was temporarily arrested suspected of having killed the three-month-old son due to mechanical asphyxia in Itapevi, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, this Saturday (8). Aline Nascimento Santos and Gabriel de Sousa Hyppolito, both 24 years old, are investigated for double homicide.
According to the incident report, Anthony Gabriel Sousa Santos was admitted to Amador Bueno Emergency Room unconscious and with bruises all over his body, in addition to untreated rashes. At 9:50 am, the medical team confirmed the baby’s death and called the Military Police.
Initially, Aline told the authorities that she breastfed her son and put him to sleep in the stroller, around 4 am. Before leaving for work, two hours later, the husband noticed that the child was not breathing. She alleges that the baby drowned in the milk and that it had a habit of spitting up.
At the end of the night, the necroscopic examination of the IML (Legal Medical Institute) pointed out that the child’s cause of death was mechanical asphyxia by indirect suffocation. “The expert told me that there was no milk in the stomach, in the esophagus or in the airways, so he didn’t drown,” said police chief Adair Marques Correa Junior to the R7.
“He had an injury in the region of the face that suggests a bruise made by finger pressure, so [o perito] believes that they put their hand on their mouth and nose,” the delegate said.
Due to the result of the exam, the temporary arrest of 30 days was requested by the Civil Police and decreed by the Justice. In a new statement, the mother confessed that she killed her son and said that her husband did not participate in the crime.
“I put the pacifier in his mouth and put the cover around his face over the pacifier. I squeezed it very hard and put him back in the stroller, face down, that is, with his head and belly down”, described Aline – who has another 2-year-old son – to the delegate.
“I couldn’t stand staying inside the house anymore. I only thought bad things. Sometimes I thought about taking a knife and killing myself”, said the young woman. During testimony, she also revealed that, yesterday, the baby “cried a lot” and that “she was tired of everything”.
Despite having wrapped Anthony in the blanket and placed him face down in the stroller, Aline reiterates that she did not smother her son or use her hand to squeeze his face. Despite not having directly participated in the crime, Gabriel knew about his wife’s action and lied in his first statement to the police, which is why he is also being investigated.
Until the publication of the report, the couple’s defense had not been located.