On 4 November this year, the prosecutor conducted a crime scene inspection at the scene of the incident. The procedural activity was attended by the child’s mother, her partner and the girl’s father, as well as the child’s mother’s sister—the direct witness to the incident. The inspection was intended to verify the suspect’s explanations and the witnesses’ testimony, as well as to precisely establish the positions of the individual persons relative to one another when the blow was struck.

The findings from the crime scene inspection will also assist the forensic medicine expert from the Department of Forensic Medicine of the Medical Academy in Poznań in issuing an opinion. She is to answer not only questions concerning the effects of the bodily injuries on the child’s current and future health, but also determine the mechanism by which the girl’s injuries were inflicted.

The incident occurred on the evening of Saturday, 8 August 2015. That day, the suspect’s brother arrived at his apartment with his common-law partner and children, including their 3-month-old daughter. The men had been in conflict for some time. Both were intoxicated. They soon began arguing. As a result, they went outside, where they fought.

After the fight, when the suspect’s brother, his partner and the child in his arms left the building and headed home, the suspect ran after them. In the yard, he grabbed a metal mast from a television antenna and used it to hit the child on the head. The girl suffered serious bodily injuries in the form of indentation and fracture of the skull bones, a brain contusion and severe intracerebral bleeding.

According to the forensic medicine expert, these injuries caused a life-threatening condition in the child. Therefore, Paweł K. was charged with intentionally causing serious bodily injury to the child.

Paweł K. did not plead guilty and gave explanations, presenting increasingly more favorable versions of events. After collecting the most important evidence, the prosecutor changed the suspect’s preventive measure from temporary detention to police supervision.

The man may face up to 10 years in prison. The investigation is ongoing.

District Prosecutor’s Office in Legnica/ii