Helsinki court to rule in father’s attempted murder case

Helsinki District Court is due to issue its verdict today in the case of a man in his fifties charged with attempting to murder his primary-school-aged child, Yle reports.

Prosecutors say the man put his eight-year-old son to sleep in the cargo compartment of a van last June and opened two gas cylinders. The suspected attempted homicide came to light after the man called the emergency response centre himself.

The man has denied trying to murder his child. He admits to aggravated assault and has said he acted out of distress over losing joint custody.