The man reportedly gave the toddler a homemade capsule containing the poison to swallow back in December 2024
Credit: Armin Weigel/picture alliance via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- A 28-year-old man in Germany has been found guilty of the attempted murder of his toddler daughter
- Local media outlets reported that the father has been sentenced to eight years in prison, but that the verdict was not yet legally binding
- A court heard that the man had given his 3-year-old daughter a homemade cling film capsule filled with mouse poison to swallow back in December 2024
A father in Germany has been found guilty of attempting to kill his 3-year-daughter with mouse poison, according to local media reports.
On Wednesday, March 18, the 28-year-old man — identified only as Elias G. — learned his fate at the Landshut Regional Court in Bavaria, per Bild. Suspects’ surnames are not usually revealed in court in Germany for privacy reasons.
The court found the man guilty of the attempted murder of his daughter, as well as for the aggravated assault and mistreatment of a person entrusted to his care, Die Zeit reported, citing news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).
The outlets reported that the man has been sentenced to eight years in prison, but noted that the verdict was not yet legally binding.
Credit: Armin Weigel/picture alliance via Getty
It was shared in court that the man, originally from Afghanistan, had given the young girl a homemade capsule made of cling film, which had been filled with mouse poison, to swallow back in December 2024, per Bild. His DNA had reportedly been found inside the capsule.
Bild reported that the capsule contained a precise dose of poison that would be lethal for a child of his daughter’s age. He’d also previously researched methods of killing by poison, per the outlet.
The prosecutor accused the man of committing the crime for financial gain, Die Zeit and dpa reported, arguing that the defendant wanted to avoid alimony payments. However, the court did not additionally consider that greed was a murder motive.
After committing the crime, the man allegedly took his daughter back to his estranged ex-partner with an intention of placing the suspicion on her, according to Bild, citing the public prosecutor’s office. The young girl then vomited, and luckily, the seal of the poison was still intact, the outlet reported.
Credit: Getty
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
The young girl was then taken to the hospital after her mom called emergency services. She didn’t suffer any major health issues, Bild reported.
After the incident occurred, the victim had reportedly told a caregiver that her father had put something in her mouth and that she’d been taken to the hospital, per Die Zeit and dpa.
The man previously argued that the filling hadn’t been covered in vomit when his daughter threw it up, however, Die Zeit and dpa reported that a judge had said that it’s possible the vomit had slipped off the foil and liquid had soaked into the sofa, citing an expert.
"The whole thing was orchestrated," one of the defense attorneys said, according to the outlets, accusing the mother of staging the crime.
The defense has announced its attention to appeal, Die Zeit and dpa reported.
The Landshut Regional Court did not immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information.
Read the full article here
