Which term best describes death of a child less than 1 week old?

• A. Infanticide
• B. Feticide
• C. Homicide
• D. Neonaticide

Answer: (D)

The important idea is naming crimes by the age of the child at death. A newborn within the first few weeks of life falls into the neonatal period, and the act of killing a baby in that time frame is called neonaticide. This term specifically covers death of a neonate, distinguishing it from feticide (death of a fetus before birth) and from infanticide (death of an infant after birth but within the early months or year). Homicide is a general term for the killing of a person, not age-specific. Since the child in this scenario is less than a week old, the most precise label is neonaticide.