Suspect accused in death of three-year-old tried to force abortion on mother: court documents

(CTV News File Photo)

WINNIPEG -

A Winnipeg man accused of killing his three-year-old daughter tried to force the mother of the child to have an abortion, according to court documents obtained by CTV Winnipeg..

Frank Nausigimana, 28, was arrested and charged on Wednesday with first-degree murder in the death of the child on Wednesday.

The child was abducted and later found in a vehicle on King Edward Street and Jefferson Avenue suffering from fatal stab wounds.

The charge against Nausigimana has not been proven in court.

According to court records, in March of 2017, Nausigimana was in a car with the mother of the child, when he tried to force her to consume an unknown liquid with the intention of terminating the pregnancy.

“He put his hands against me and forced it into my face,” the pregnant woman said in court. “I realized what his intention was. It would actually kill the baby.”

The woman managed to escape the car with minor injuries and no serious damage to the baby.

Nausigimana and the woman had known each other for seven years, and in a previous conversation, had said “His only goal was to abort the baby,” according to the woman’s testimony.

The act was described as an incident of domestic violence by the court. A protection order was granted against Nausigimana in April 2017, only days after the incident.

In a request to have the protection order revoked, Nausigimana said he “knew this was wrong,” and that he told the mother he, “wasn’t ready” to become a father, also implying the mother “used” him.

In July 2017, the woman told the court she wanted to revoke the protection order, partly to normalize the relationship with Nausigimana.

“I trust him that he won’t do it again to me,” she wrote at the time.

The protection order was revoked in September. In 2019, Nausigimana pleaded guilty to the assault charges.

Court records state the child lived with her mother full time since her birth, but in February of this year, Nausigimana tried to establish a joint-custody agreement with the mother.

Documents show he was “concerned” the mother, “may seek to move with the child abruptly without consent,” and the mother was “unilaterally” refusing access to the child.

In response, the mother cited, “previous and ongoing domestic violence issues as reasons against the proposal.

“Joint custody would not be appropriate for the circumstances,” reads the mother’s response from March.

Nausigimana remains in custody.