In March 2017, little Louna died as a result of shaken baby syndrome. The two defendants on trial were her father, Sébastien, and her grandfather, Didier, the only two adults present at the time of the incident.
The Paris Assize Court sentenced Louna’s father to five years in prison, with one year suspended, for causing her death in 2017 from shaken baby syndrome. The grandfather was acquitted.
In this unusual trial, the jurors had to choose a guilty party between the two defendants. Sébastien D., 35, who was on trial with his father Didier, 61, was also sentenced to four years of socio-judicial follow-up.
Both defendants in tears, along with Louna’s mother Sandrine R., welcomed the decision with tears. The father was not arrested after the verdict, as the court did not issue a warrant for his detention – he will be summoned later for incarceration.
The sentence given was in line with the requisitions of the Attorney General Annabelle Philippe. She had expressed on Thursday her belief that the grandfather could not have committed the act, stating “if it’s not one, it’s the other.” She had asked for seven years in prison for the father.
The two defendants were the only adults alone with Louna on the evening of February 27, 2017, at the family home (the grandfather was hosting the parents and the child) before the mother alerted at around 10:40 pm due to the baby’s concerning condition.
Hospitalized urgently, Louna suffered from a skull fracture and a subdural hematoma. These were typical injuries of shaken baby syndrome, according to experts. She died in the hospital after six days in a coma.
During the investigation and throughout the hearings, Sébastien and Didier D. had consistently maintained their innocence and had not incriminated each other. However, at the end of the proceedings, the father said, “I have no memory of harming my daughter.”
His lawyer, Me Merabi Murgulia, urged the jurors to acquit his client based on doubt and to keep the possibility of “not choosing” between the two accused, declaring them both innocent. The grandfather’s defense similarly argued against his guilt.
The hypothesis that the grandfather was responsible would have required him to harm the child within an extremely short period (about two minutes), while he had just returned from work and the parents were in the adjacent room. Louna was not crying, so he had no reason to be upset with her, as argued by the defense.
Sébastien D. was described by all involved in the case as a loving, present, and involved father, with no reports of violence from him. However, the prosecution pointed out that he worked a lot, was tired, and had recently had an epileptic seizure. This fatigue could have led to a voluntary, impulsive act of violence, they argued.
Beyond the facts, the prosecution noted the denial and allowing his father to be accused, which was hard to understand. According to Attorney Philippe, some accused individuals “convince themselves” that they did not commit the acts because they are so “unbearable” that admitting them would lead to a “collapse of personality.”
