Preventive detention for the parents of the baby who died in Santa Bàrbara: no bail

The parents of the baby found dead in Santa Bàrbara will enter preventive detention, without bail. The Amposta court is investigating them for an alleged crime of homicide, child abandonment, and animal abuse.

The judicial decision comes after the couple was arrested in Valencia and the baby's remains were found on Thursday at the family home. In Santa Bàrbara, nearly 200 people gathered in front of the Town Hall to observe a minute of silence.

What has the Amposta court decided?

Why are the two detainees entering prison?

The measure affects both members of the couple and has been ordered preventively, communicated, and without bail. The resolution was adopted this Friday by the judge of seat 2 in Amposta, the court instructing the case.

This means the couple is deprived of liberty while the judicial investigation progresses. The source does not specify how long this situation will last nor what procedures will be carried out from now on. What is confirmed is that the court keeps the case open.

The decision is not a conviction. The procedure investigates facts which, according to the report, could correspond to three alleged crimes: homicide, child abandonment, and animal abuse. The definitive qualification will depend on the progress of the investigation.

The central detail is the combination of measures: preventive detention for both detainees and removal of parental rights over their other children in common. Therefore, it is not a single decision about the freedom of the suspects.

What does the removal of parental rights imply?

The judge has also agreed to remove from the couple the parental rights over their other children in common. This resolution affects the parental rights and responsibilities concerning these minors, but the available information does not specify where they are nor what protective measures have been adopted for them.

The measure is directly related to the protection of other children linked to the family. The court has made this decision in the same resolution ordering preventive detention in a case that includes an investigation for child abandonment.

Prudence is mandatory. The case is still open and the two detainees retain the presumption of innocence until a firm judicial resolution is issued. The known information allows explaining the decisions made but does not allow reconstructing aspects that the court has not yet made public.

The known judicial sequence is brief and concrete:

• Wednesday, the couple was arrested in Valencia.
• Then, the two detainees testified before the court.
• Thursday, the baby's remains were found at the family home.
• This Friday, the Amposta court ordered preventive detention without bail.
• The same resolution removes parental rights over the other children in common.

What happened in Santa Bàrbara?

Where were the baby’s remains found?

The baby's remains were found Thursday at the family home in Santa Bàrbara, a municipality of Montsià. This is the exact point linking the case to the locality, while the couple’s arrest took place in Valencia.

For the neighbors, the news has disrupted the routine of a municipality that now appears tied to an especially serious judicial investigation. The available information does not specify the circumstances of the discovery nor the state of the police investigation, so any added detail would be speculation.

The court keeps the case open for the three alleged crimes already mentioned. This formula describes the object of the investigation but does not yet resolve the criminal responsibility of either detainee.

The difference between what is known and what is not yet known is especially relevant in a case with a deceased minor. There is a prison order, removal of parental rights, and an open case; however, there is no sentence nor a complete public explanation of the facts.

How has the municipality reacted?

The Santa Bàrbara Town Hall has declared two days of official mourning following the event. During this period, the council has suspended planned institutional and official events.

The flags at the town hall fly at half-mast. It is a formal municipal response to the baby’s death and places the mourning in the public space of the town, without adding an interpretation of the facts the court is investigating.

This evening, about 200 people gathered in front of the Town Hall to observe a minute of silence in memory of the baby. The number gives a concrete dimension to the gathering: it was not a token meeting of a few people, but a large turnout at the institutional center of Santa Bàrbara.

The minute of silence has been the only public gesture known so far from the municipality. The official mourning, the suspension of events, and the flags at half-mast form part of the same response while the investigation continues under judicial direction.

The reality is that the case is split into two levels. On one hand, there is the criminal procedure against the parents and the measures ordered by the Amposta court; on the other, there is the response of Santa Bàrbara, with two days of official mourning and a gathering of nearly 200 people. Preventive detention does not close the investigation, and the municipality’s silence does not replace the decisions that justice still has to make.

Article source: Editorial staff / Catalan News Agency