A 28-year-old Oslo woman and her 35-year-old British boyfriend have been charged with aggravated manslaughter after the woman’s 22-month-old daughter was drowned in a bucket. The couple has also been charged with gross abuse of the girl in the six months up to her death.
The indictment said the pair were attempting to discipline the girl on October 3, 2010, reported Norwegian news bureau NTB. She passed out after twice being dunked into a bucket, and was rushed to hospital. The mother told paramedics the girl had fallen into the bucket by accident, and swallowed a lot of water.
Other charges include forcing the baby to eat chilli powder, shower in cold water, and stand in the corner for hours with her legs bound tightly together. The woman’s lawyer, Geir Hovland, said she disputes the manslaughter charges. “But she acknowledges guilt for abusing her daughter,” he said. “She wants to go through the legal process and get on with her life.”
The woman has testified that it was her boyfriend’s idea to hold the baby upside down in the bucket. The man has been held in custody since his extradition to Norway in December 2012, and has denied guilt over the abuse and death.
newsinenglish.no staff
