A British woman is now under investigation for allegedly suffocating her baby in France.
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The child’s father discovered the body in a bed on Saturday morning and called the emergency services to the gîte at Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle near Bayonne in the Basque region.
This was when the husband inspected the bed, and found his child was dead.
According to the Sud-Ouest newspaper, the mother’s initial statements to police indicated that she had suffocated the child.
The family had all been sleeping in a single bedroom in the gite, in the village of Saint-Pee-sur-Nivelle.
The Bayonne prosecutor, Marc Mariée, told The Telegraph that, “The suspicious death of a baby was recorded at the scene”.
The family, due to return to the United Kingdom yesterday after a week away, were all sleeping in a single room.
The father and the three-year-old child are continuing to stay in the cottage as the investigation continues. When the mother, who is in her 30s, rose at 9am, her partner discovered the baby was dead and called the police.
A coroner who visited the property found that the baby’s death was not natural and was most likely caused by suffocation.
The custody period was extended on Saturday (3 September).
The family will remain in France at least for the early stages of the investigation.
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An autopsy will be performed early next week.
