French prosecutors have opened a criminal inquiry after a five-day-old premature girl died from injuries sustained at the Jeanne-de-Flandre maternity unit of the CHU de Lille. The infant, identified by family members as Zayneb-Cassandra, was declared dead on Tuesday, 15 July, four days after she was found unconscious on the ward floor with severe head trauma. Investigators say a six-year-old boy, the son of another patient, entered the neonatal unit unaccompanied on 11 July and allegedly dropped the baby while ‘treating her like a doll’. Staff rushed the child to intensive care, but her condition deteriorated and she succumbed to a traumatic brain injury. The Lille prosecutor’s office has opened a case for “violences sur mineur de 15 ans” and assigned the juvenile division of the judicial police to gather evidence and interview witnesses. Because of his age, the boy cannot be placed in police custody or face criminal prosecution, but civil liability claims against his parents and the hospital remain possible. The hospital said it has launched an internal administrative investigation and, as a precaution, has sharply limited visiting hours in all neonatal wards. Psychological support is being offered to the infant’s parents, aged 23, and to staff present at the time of the incident. An autopsy has been ordered to confirm the cause of death.