Mother to remain in jail, suspected of suffocating 5-month-old baby in Resende

A court in Rio de Janeiro has ordered a mother to remain in custody as she is investigated for the suspected murder of her five-month-old baby by asphyxiation in Resende. The initial arrest has been converted into preventive detention. She faces charges of qualified homicide and ill-treatment. The decision was made during a custody hearing by Judge Marco Aurélio da Silva Adania, who cited the suspect as a "concrete risk to public order" due to the severity of the case, the victim's vulnerability, and the failure to provide basic care. The judge also denied a request for house arrest, stating that exceptions apply when the crime involves violence or is against one's own child, and that granting it could endanger other children in the family. Necropsy results indicated the baby died from suffocation and suffered from severe malnutrition, weighing only 3 kilograms at five months old with signs of dehydration. Police found the family home in a deplorable state, with a strong odor, accumulated garbage, animal feces, a broken refrigerator with spoiled food, and evidence of drug use. Witnesses reported that the suspect's two other daughters, who lived in the same house, were found hungry and infested with lice, with one child exhibiting developmental delays and neglect. The judge has urgently referred the situation of the girls, who are now with their maternal grandmother, to the Tutelary Council. The children's father is also being investigated for suspected negligence and is currently a fugitive.