A 38-year-old man has been charged with murder after the stabbing of his three-year-old daughter in the centre of the southern coastal city of Porvoo last November. Prosecutors announced the decision on Wednesday, although proceedings will not begin until the man has undergone psychiatric evaluation.
The man, who is a French citizen from the Caribbean, is suspected of stabbing his daughter in a public park after abducting her when her mother was putting her in the family car. The daughter was taken to hospital by helicopter but succumbed to her injuries.
Police detained the father in the park immediately, and he has been detained since then. The district court ruled he should undergo psychiatric evaluation during the preliminary investigation. The suspect has admitted causing his daughter's death.
The parents were in the midst of a custody battle at the time of the daughter's death, and the mother had sought a restraining order against the father.
