A case report of paternal filicide covered up as a fall

Abstract

Background: Filicide is the murder of a child by one of the parents. We report a case of filicide covered up as an accidental fall. Case Report: First year male child was beaten to death by his father. This latter reported the incident as an accidental fall. Postmortem examinations revealed skin bruises with bites marks, brain subdural hematoma and subarachnoid hemorrhage. The cause of death was head trauma, and the manner of death was criminal act. Conclusion: Forensic pathologist should verify any information reported by the parents and compare it with the postmortem examinations to determine the circumstances of death.