It was at Christmas that the then six-year-old girl was taken to the emergency room after ingesting a large amount of vinegar. She was severely chilled, emaciated and had injuries all over her body.
The case of the little girl from Eslöv who is suspected of having been poisoned with vinegar by her parents has raised strong emotions and lots of questions.
– These types of cases are the most difficult cases. Partly, they hurt the heart, you have difficulty sleeping. But you have to keep your cool in some sense. As a lawyer, you have to treat this like other criminal cases, but it’s tough, says legal expert Jens Lapidus in Efter fem.
Difficult to interrogate children
When the incident occurred, the girl was six years old. Today she is seven and lives in a family home. Jens Lapidus believes that the path to a conviction is not completely obvious due to the difficulties in interrogating a child.
– This is one of the most difficult things a court is faced with. Valuing evidence when a child says things. How should you evaluate what a six-year-old says?
Lapidus says that the interrogations with children are not held in the courtroom, but in special rooms at the police.
– They are quite small rooms that should be a bit more cozy and create a slightly more relaxed atmosphere. Most of the time, you may be sitting in an armchair instead of a chair, there may be some toys in the room, he says.
“Think the parents are judged”
During the interrogation, other parties may not be in the room. They are transferred to another room where they can follow the interrogation via a camera.
– What is extremely important is that the interrogator does not put the words in the child’s mouth. That is not always easy. Sometimes children don’t have an expression, sometimes you have to help them on their way to find the words. Everything here has to be evaluated by the court in a court of law, he says.
Jens Lapidus believes that it is not entirely certain how the vinegar case will end. But he thinks he knows.
– There are an awful lot of interrogations in this case. More than 50 interrogations. I believe in a conviction. I think the parents are sentenced to seven or eight years in prison, he says.