A child taken during a custody dispute
In November 2017 Nicolas Mathieu Cherchel took his three-year-old daughter while the child's mother was preparing to leave with her in Porvoo. The parents were involved in a custody dispute, and the mother had previously sought a restraining order because of threats made by the father.
Cherchel took the child to Lyseo Park in Porvoo. The girl was critically injured there and was transported by helicopter for emergency treatment, but she died from her injuries.
District court: premeditated murder
The East Uusimaa District Court convicted Cherchel of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The court treated the killing as premeditated. Psychiatric evaluation evidence considered in the proceedings found that, despite mental-health problems, he was criminally responsible for his actions.
The district-court case also included convictions for other conduct connected to the family conflict, including assault, illegal threats, child kidnapping and home invasion.
Court of Appeal upheld the life sentence
Cherchel appealed, arguing that the offence should not be classified as murder and referring to his mental state and personal circumstances. The Helsinki Court of Appeal rejected the challenge and upheld the life sentence.
The appeal court concluded that the planning and seriousness of the killing outweighed the mitigating arguments presented by the defence. It also upheld the lower court's findings on the other offences.
Supreme Court refused leave to appeal
On 26 September 2019 Finland's Supreme Court rejected Cherchel's application for leave to appeal. That left the life sentence imposed by the lower courts in force.
The case is therefore an adjudicated family homicide. Reporting about the parents' custody dispute and earlier threats is relevant background, but responsibility for the murder rests on the final criminal judgment rather than on allegations made before trial.