A 31-year-old mother has been arrested on suspicion of drowning her five-week-old baby in a bathtub following an argument with the child's father. The incident occurred in the small town of Bayeux, France, on the night of Friday, November 13, and into the early hours of Saturday, November 14.
According to French prosecutors, the father left the flat after the argument to calm down. The mother then allegedly drowned the newborn in a bathtub before sending a chilling message to the father informing him of what she had done. The father returned home to find the mother gone and the baby dead.
Police found the mother on the streets less than an hour later and arrested her. Prosecutor Joël Garrigue stated that she confessed to the crime. She is expected to appear before a judge in Caen on Sunday afternoon and is likely to be charged with murder, which carries a potential life sentence if convicted of killing a minor.
The mother's identity has not been released as she is under a protective order due to being under guardianship. The deputy mayor of Bayeux, Arnaud Tanquerel, expressed the community's shock, noting that the town of around 12,000 people sees only a few births each month.
