The parents of the infants found buried in the northern Croatian municipality of Ljubešćica have confessed.
Police in Varaždin questioned the parents of newborns discovered buried in the forest in Ljublje Kalnički, near Novi Marof. They arrived at the detention center in the evening, accompanied by intervention police officers. The court condemned them to pretrial custody, and the father’s lawyer announced within 24 hours that he would appeal the judgment.
– My client was questioned and answered all of the questions, but he refused to accept guilt for the charges against him. He is aggressively defending himself, and he will continue to do so, according to the lawyer. He goes on to say that he is unable to discuss the probe in full.
The hearing for parents began at 16:00 at the County Court in Varaždin. RTL has informally heard that the parents are cooperative; they did not defend themselves by staying silent, but instead acknowledged to the crime and answered all inquiries. The prosecutor’s office has requested pre-trial detention for the criminal offense of significant breach of children’s rights, also known as child neglect. Pre-trial custody is also sought due to the likelihood of the crime being committed again, as well as the risk of influencing witnesses.
Nenad Horvatić, Mayor of Ljubešćica Municipality, conducted an interview with the principal on Wednesday.
“Because the subject is fairly challenging, I requested that the principal hold an interview with the students. This is a one-time incident that should not put a pall over everything else,” remarked the mayor.
Meanwhile, the parents were sentenced to pre-trial imprisonment since the offense was repeated and there was a risk of influencing witnesses.
“The suspects are accused of committing criminal acts that violated the rights of children, resulting in the deaths of two children.” Deputy County State Attorney Darko Galić stated that the suspects were interrogated today and would be proposed for pre-trial imprisonment owing to the possibility of influencing witnesses and repeating the crime.
On Wednesday, Minister Marin Piletić stated that the family from the Varaždin region was not under social assistance measures. Meanwhile, Minister Davor Božinović stated that the police received a tip from someone who knew the family.
Davor Božinović, Minister of the Interior, previously stated that the births occurred autonomously at home and were not documented in any records, resulting in no awareness of their existence.
He stated that the criminal inquiry has left police detectives terribly shocked and appalled.
“Police officers from Varaždin, Zagreb, and Split-Dalmatia Police Departments, in collaboration with the Police Directorate, acted on the basis of possible neglect and abuse of children in the community of unmarried spouses, aged 38 and 34, living in the territory of Varaždin County.” It is thought that as a result of terrible neglect in the development of three children, two children died, most likely around the age of one, and were buried on the family property,” stated the minister.
The mother is from Zagreb, and the father is from Split. Several people from Split who know him testified for Slobodna Dalmacija , and they said that until a few years ago he was a ‘quite normal man’ who actively played water polo, and was also a successful singer in a relatively well-known Split band.
And then a few years ago he completely ‘turned around’ and became a member of a religious sect. There he also met his partner and married her, according to the rite prescribed by the sect to which they belong.
“He completely alienated himself from all social and legal norms, convincing himself that he did not need any state or any rules. And one of the proofs of his beliefs was the fact that he considered the OIB to be the ‘mark of the beast’. With his unmarried wife, who was a professor of music, he decided to go live in the wilderness, in complete isolation,” said one of the interlocutors.
The interlocutors confirmed for Slobodna Dalmacija that the man from Split and his partner were seen in Split some time ago with their then 3-year-old daughter, and said that they were unpleasantly surprised by the malnourished appearance of the girl.
Source: Jutarnij.hr/index.hr
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