Autopsy Findings of the Case Child Murder: Is It Infanticide or Child Homicide? The Indonesian Perspective: A Case Report

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Infanticide and child homicide are common but not the same cases of homicide. According to Indonesian criminal law, infanticide means murder committed by the mother him/herself, while child homicide means murder that can be committed by anyone. Signs of care for the baby became a very significant differentiating factor for these two types of homicide. CASE PRESENTATION: It was reported a case of finding an unidentified baby with an unrecognizable face and incomplete body parts by residents in the Sanehan River, Silih Nara District, Central Aceh, in a state not wrapped in anything. In the identification of the baby, it is estimated that the age based on gestational age is 38−40 weeks with a body length ranging from 44 to 46 cm. On external examination, a sharp trauma was found on the back of the neck, both arms and both thighs were cut off, an open wound in the lower abdomen. Autopsy results showed blunt trauma to the back of the head and facial bones appeared to be crushed. The pulmonary flotation test showed that the baby was born alive. CONCLUSIONS: The cause of death of the victim was a sharp and blunt force on the head and limbs and a blunt force on the stomach. Estimated time of death of the victim ranged from 6 to 8 days before the examination. It is necessary to determine whether this homicide case is a case of infanticide or child homicide. From the analysis and deepening of the data by the forensic medicine team, it is most likely that the baby in this case is an infanticide case, where the baby has received the affection of the baby’s parents is not possible.