Investigations into the circumstances surrounding an incident in which a four-year-old who died in Haren in January concluded that methadone was the cause of death, the Public Prosecutor's Office has confirmed.
Brussels police were informed that a suspicious death had occurred at the Queen Fabiola Children's University Hospital on 13 January. An autopsy was subsequently ordered as well as a legal inquiry into involuntary manslaughter. No arrests have been made at this point.
"The exact circumstances in which this ingestion may have occurred are not yet clear," spokesperson Yasmina Vanoverschelde stated. "The investigation is still ongoing to determine this."
According to Het Nieuwsblad, the incident took place in a residential building in Middleweg, Haren, near the train station. The child lived there with his mother and obtained a methadone pill that belonged to another resident in the building who was undergoing methadone treatment for drug addiction.
Upon questioning, the resident in possession of methadone said she had misplaced a box of pills a few weeks previously. She provided an alibi to police and was released without charges.
