Boy dies of cardiac arrest after dad chased him for wetting the bed
A FIVE-YEAR-OLD boy has died after being forced to run outside in the middle of the night as punishment for wetting the bed.
Five-year-old Yanis was found dead by a canal wearing his underwear and socks
The little boy named Yanis was found wearing just his underwear and socks after being chased by his father on a bike in the cold night.
He fell multiple times and was found with a head injury and broken nose.
Emergency workers found the boy lying unconscious near a canal in Aire-sur-la-Lys, a town in northern France. He died of cardiac arrest in the early hours of Monday.
The boy’s step-father, Julien M., 30, and mother, 23, have both been arrested and charged with first degree murder.
The poor boy was running away from his stepfather before he suffered a cardiac arrest
The prosecutor of the Republic of Saint-Omer, Patrick Leleu, said: “We believe that the child was punished for wetting the bed and forced to run outside in the cold, in the middle of the night. He ran several kilometres along the La Lys canal and fell at least twice. We also believe that his step-father jumped on a bike and chased him.”
It is believed Yanis had been physically abused before his death for wetting his bed
Mr Leleu added Yanis, who was found with a head injury and a broken nose some 200 metres from his home at around 2.30am, was physically abused before he died.
He said: “A post-mortem examination revealed the boy died from various injuries to the skull, consistent with some falls, some not.”
Yanis's mother and step-father Julien have been arrested and charged for first degree murder
The step-father, who is the one who called the emergency services after Yanis collapsed, told police his step-son had suffered from “urinary incontinence”, and admitted to punishing the child for “wetting the bed”.
Yanis was his mother’s only child. The young woman is said to have met and moved in with Julien M. in August 2015.
Horrific moment dad kills son by falling on him
Both suspects are currently unemployed and are “not known to local social services”, the mayor of Aire-sur-la-Lys, Jean-Claude Dissaux, said.
A neighbour called Jean told Le Parisien said: “We don’t know them very well. The mother is a painter – I think she does black and white paintings of children. Her partner isn’t very chatty.”
Another neighbour said: “Yanis’s mother is very polite and discreet. The boy was always well dressed.”