Image: Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva

Charges read at Helsinki District Court on Tuesday will include murder, deprivation of liberty and assault.

The prosecutor will argue that the couple slowly suffocated the girl and that the crime was premeditated and exceptionally cruel.

The defendants deny the charges, but have admitted to the events leading up to the young girl's death.

Child welfare officials are also being investigated for their actions in the case. The child had previously been taken into care, but was returned to her father's custody a few months before her death.