Day care teacher caught on camera suffocating infant: police

Police investigating the death of an 11-month-old boy have arrested a day care teacher for fatal child abuse in Hwagok-dong, southwestern Seoul, Thursday.

According to Gangseo Police Station, the 59-year-old woman, surnamed Kim, is accused of suffocating the baby to death with a blanket during nap time Wednesday afternoon.

Police officers said they arrived at the day care facility around 3:30 p.m. after receiving a report of a “baby not breathing.” Emergency medical staff arrived at the scene shortly after, but the little boy was already dead, according to reports. 

When police spoke with the day care workers, they claimed to have only “left the baby to sleep for a little while.” As they tried to wake him up, the child was unresponsive.

After confiscating and analyzing video surveillance footage, police said they found concrete evidence tying the day care worker to the baby’s death. In the video, Kim was seen laying the child face down first, covering him with a blanket, then pressing down with her full body weight.

Kim reportedly admitted later she had only tried to “soothe the fussy baby to sleep.”

According to a police statement, the National Forensic Service will examine the child’s body to determine the exact cause of death. The NFS further plans on questioning the owner of the facility as to whether there have been any additional acts of physical abuse against other children.

Police said they will request the court issue an arrest warrant for the suspect by the end of Thursday. 

By Catherine Chung (cec82@heraldcorp.com)