A seven-year-old girl who suffered “critical injuries” in an incident at a house on Friday morning has died in hospital.
The youngster was treated by medics at the property in Wimbledon, south-west London, after emergency services were called.
Robert Peters, 55, appeared before Wimbledon magistrates on Saturday morning, charged with attempted murder, but the court heard the girl was unlikely to survive.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police confirmed the girl died on Saturday morning, and that she and the suspect were known to each other.
A court order put in place while the girl was fighting for her life in hospital prevents the girl from being identified in media reports.
Police said a post-mortem examination is due to take place later.
It is believed Peters runs an antiques firm with his brother in Kensington, west London, specialising in oriental ceramics and artworks.
An acquaintance at the business said neither brother, who he said were twins, had been in to work on Saturday.
One neighbour in Wimbledon, who asked not to be named, described arriving home as emergency crews dealt with the situation.
The man said: “I had been taking my kids to school, I turned into this road and thought it was strange because the cop cars were driving on the wrong side of the road.
“They were all double-parked, you couldn’t get down further than my house, really.
“There was a woman carrying all the medical gear into the house and you could tell by the look on her face.
“With coppers you can sometimes be all casual, go up and have a chat about what’s going on. But you could see in their faces that something was very wrong.
“Then the lady came out with a stretcher.”
Neighbours said Peters had lived in the area for less than a year.
One said: “I knew him just to say hello to in the street, when he was at his car. He hadn’t long moved in.”