Thai mother suspects grandmother killed her 1 month old baby
A Thai mother suspects her baby’s grandmother of killing her one month old child at the in-laws’ home in the Nong Prue district of Chon Buri.
The 28 year old mother, Am, and her husband asked the Pavena Foundation for Children and Women to investigate the death of their newborn baby, Paeng, who was only one month and 25 days old. An autopsy revealed that the baby suffered a brain injury.
Am told the foundation and Channel 7 that Paeng was her first child but she and her husband were unable to care for her due to financial instability. Both had to work to earn enough money for their family. As a result, Paeng was sent to live with the 55 year old mother of Am’s husband.
The baby stayed with her grandmother and her grandmother’s new husband since September 30. Unfortunately, Am received the devastating news in the early hours of October 5 that Paeng’s skin had turned dark and she was no longer breathing.
Am said she rushed to the grandmother’s home and took her daughter to Bang Lamung Hospital. The doctor performed CPR but was unable to save her. The doctor revealed that the baby was deprived of oxygen for over two hours before arriving at the hospital and had also bled from her nose.
According to the grandmother, the baby woke up and cried at around 1am, so the grandmother gave her some milk. The baby then fell asleep again until 5am, when she had a seizure, prompting the grandmother to call Am.
The grandmother stated that she had given the baby a bath on the evening of October 4 and that the girl’s leg hit the bathtub. The grandmother believed this might have caused the baby’s illness. However, Am was unconvinced that this could have caused such a fatal injury.
Am said the grandmother later left home on her motorcycle and disappeared. She did not contact anyone, including her new husband, 59 year old Kamthorn.
Kamthorn told Channel 7 that his wife had said nothing to him before leaving. He also claimed to be unaware of the cause of the baby’s death, as he usually slept on the ground floor of the house while his wife and the baby slept on the second floor.
Police are now searching for the grandmother to bring justice to the baby and her parents.
