Who is the accused in the case from Herlev?
The accused in the case is a 31-year-old man residing in Herlev, who in the summer of 2024 was charged with one of the most serious forms of violent crime: aggravated assault and abuse of his own infant. The child, a little boy, was born two months premature and was therefore particularly vulnerable. The man has consistently pleaded not guilty throughout the proceedings and stated that he has no knowledge of how the child's injuries occurred. He was briefly held in custody at the beginning of the investigation but was released by the Eastern High Court when no grounds were found for continued detention leading up to the trial.
What happened in the summer of 2024?
The case began when doctors in a department for premature infants discovered alarming symptoms in the three-month-old boy. Upon closer examination, hospital staff found that the child had sustained numerous fractures in various parts of his body as well as bleeding in the brain. Medical experts assessed that the injuries had occurred in at least two separate incidents and bore clear signs of having been inflicted by external violence, including shaking or direct blows. As the child was hospitalized and under supervision, both parents and staff became the focus of police attention, but suspicion quickly turned towards the father.
The investigation and the medical evidence
The investigation led by the Copenhagen West Police focused on establishing a timeline of the injuries in relation to who had access to the child. Hospital staff provided extensive witness testimonies in the Court in Glostrup, where they described the child's condition and the findings made during the hospitalization. Although the medical reports clearly established that it was a case of violence under the Penal Code § 246, there were no witnesses to the actual acts, and there was no technical evidence, such as video surveillance or DNA, that directly linked the father to the specific acts of violence.
The trial and the basis for the verdict
The trial against the 31-year-old man spanned seven court days in January and February 2026. The prosecution attempted to meet the burden of proof by arguing that the father was the only one who had the opportunity to commit the violence during the relevant time periods. However, the jury at the Court in Glostrup did not agree. In the verdict delivered on February 2, 2026, the court stated that it had indeed been proven that the child had been abused, but that the prosecution had not met the burden of proof that it was specifically the accused father who was responsible. Since any reasonable doubt must benefit the accused, the man was acquitted of all charges.
Related cases
The case is similar in nature to other cases of shaking violence, such as cases of Shaken Baby Syndrome , where it is often a legal challenge to assign criminal responsibility when multiple individuals have had access to the child. Similar cases are often handled at the Court in Glostrup and other district courts, where medical expertise plays a crucial role in the outcome.
Documentaries and podcasts about the case
There are currently no specific documentaries about this case, but the topic of difficult burdens of proof in violence cases against children is generally addressed in podcast series such as Moerkeland and in legal reviews from the Danish Court Administration .
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