Boy, 6, heard making chilling comment in hospital before 'killing newborn baby'

A six-year-old boy who allegedly killed a baby girl was heard making a disturbing comment before he is thought to have dropped the newborn on a hospital floor.

The parents of Zayneb-Cassandra, who was born premature and barely a week old, said they will "stick together to the end" following their daughter's death. The shocking incident happened last Friday at the Jeanne-de-Flandre Children’s Hospital in Lille, France.

A criminal investigation is now underway after the baby was rushed to intensive care but tragically pronounced dead on Tuesday following a traumatic brain injury. The boy had already been reported as being a ‘disruptive presence’ within the hospital when he was found alone with the unconscious baby in a neonatal unit.

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The child - the son of another mum on a maternity ward - was seen going into other rooms. Zayneb's grandmother claimed he then made a brief comment after entering the baby's room before being kicked out of it by her husband.

She told French outlet Voix du Nord: "He was entering the other rooms. He also entered Zayneb's room for the first time. He said she looked like a doll, and my husband, who was there, took him out."

While Zayneb's grieving dad Mohamed-Hamza, 23, spoke of the trauma caused by the horrific incident. He told Le Parisien: "I have no words to describe my condition and that of my wife."

Mum Sephora, also 23, called her husband to break the news that their daughter had been involved in an incident. "She told me our daughter had fallen to the floor... I burst into tears," said Mohamed-Hamza.

Sephora was signing discharge papers last Friday when "all of a sudden, the family received a call from a ward manager, saying they needed to come right away – a little boy had been playing with the baby, who had fallen".

According to the family, who cite another mother in a neighbouring room, "a loud bang" was heard before Zayneb was found unresponsive on the floor with the boy next to her on a chair.

Zayneb’s grandmother said: "It seems he tried to grab her by her nappy, and she fell on her head." She added: "The boy would arrive at 7am and spend all day running up and down the hallways. All the mothers were complaining, and a nurse even warned the child’s mother that there was a problem."

An investigation has since been opened by the juvenile unit of the Lille Judicial Police Service. “Investigations are currently underway in this case,” said a spokesman for Lille prosecutors.

While a spokesperson for the hospital said: "The thoughts of the University Hospital professionals are first and foremost with the young victim, her family, and her loved ones."

It added: “This human tragedy has deeply affected the staff and teams of Lille University Children’s Hospital, as well as the other families present.”

The hospital also stated that it has taken strict measures to limit visitors since the incident. It also announced the opening of "an internal administrative investigation".