Baby Liam O’Keefe was only eight weeks old when he was killed at his home in Belfast earlier this week.
Raluca Tagani, a Romanian mother of two living in Belfast, has been charged with murdering her own baby and attempting to kill her two-year-old daughter on Tuesday night at their home in the Ardoyne area of the city.
The 29-year-old will appear at Belfast Magistrate’s Court later today, with the children’s father William O’Keefe, who was in England at the time of the attack, now trying to come to terms with the death of his baby.
Speaking at a vigil outside their home last night, Belfast Live reports William O’Keefe said he was “truly heartbroken” by what had happened.
“To all the neighbours and the full community for all their help and support, I really appreciate it all,” O’Keefe told the crowd.
“Holding this vigil means the world to me. I am truly heartbroken but it gives me the strength to know you are all giving so much love and support.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Mr. O’Keefe’s daughter from a previous relationship, Lara, told reporters that, when her father found out that Liam had died, “he dropped the phone and just screamed.”
“I held him as he was crying. The police and ambulance came to check how he was. My dad’s a big man and he never displays his feelings. To see him like that was just horrific,” she said.
“I rang the police straight away. He flew back to Northern Ireland as soon as he could.
“He is in bits. He’s had to go and see the baby’s body today. His kids are his world. He is completely devastated.
“I only met him (Baby Liam) through FaceTime but he was a beautiful baby. We were planning to go over and see him. There was supposed to be a Christening. Now it will be a funeral.”
The man’s two-year-old daughter remains in hospital, with the PSNI’s Detective Chief Inspector Chris Millar saying she is in a “stable” condition.
“I would like to thank the local community for their unwavering support and patience while we continue our investigation into the tragic events of Tuesday evening and I continue to ask that anyone who has any information to contact us,” Millar said in a tweet.
Sinn Féin’s John Finucane said: “I think there is a senselessness to it, I think people find it very difficult to try to comprehend the facts as they are being relayed and the facts as they are emerging.
“It is incredibly difficult and will obviously leave a mark on those who are most impacted by it, and all we can do is rally round those who need support at this time.
“This has been hugely impactful. There were neighbours who assisted and some people who would have witnessed scenes that they shouldn’t have to witness.”
A post-mortem examination of Baby Liam is to take place today.