Sentence upheld for baby killing father

THE Supreme Court has upheld a nearly 24 year prison sentence for a man found guilty of killing his 45-day old baby. 

Hicham B. was accused of snatching the baby from its mother’s arms and twice throwing it to the floor in Campohermoso in June 2016, Spanish media reported. The child died within seconds. 

According to Spanish press he immediately fled the scene and hid in a shanty town in the Pujaire area of Nijar until Guardia Civil tracked him down a week later. 

The court rejected the motives presented by the accused in an appeal against the Andalucia High Court ruling, which had confirmed the sentence set by the Almeria Provincial Court after a jury found him guilty of murder, habitual mistreatment as a form of violence against women and of bodily harm. 

The jury unanimously rejected any claims the accused was suffering from some kind of mental disorder which prevented him from understanding the consequences of his actions or of controlling himself.  

He claimed his actions had been “involuntary”, and that he only remembered seeing the baby on the floor. 

In addition to the prison sentence, he must also pay €120,000 compensation.