The dead boy is believed to have been seven years old and police sources
said that the body, found in a bed under several blankets, could have
been left to decompose for several weeks. There were no obvious signs of
physical violence, the same sources said.
Officers from Catalonia's Mossos d’Esquadra police force attended the
family’s home on Tuesday after being called by the couple’s landlord. He
told the police that he had visited the family to settle unpaid bills
but became suspicious when he was not allowed in and heard screams the
other side of the door.
When police agents gained access to the flat at midday on Tuesday they
were met by a strong smell of decomposing flesh. The body was not taken
away until some six hours later after officers had searched the home for
clues which could explain the cause of death. The results of an autopsy
were being awaited on Wednesday, while the police questioned and
eventually arrested the couple on suspicion of manslaughter.
The couple have been identified only as American citizens of 38 and 39
years of age. They have two older children, a boy and a girl, who were
also in the flat when the police arrived. They are now in the care of
local authorities and are being given psychological support.
Neighbours described the couple as unusual in that they were Americans
who did not speak much Spanish or Catalan. One resident of the same
building told the newspaper El Periódico that in recent weeks he had
only seen the father, said to be an engineer who worked over the border
in France, leave the house.
“The only really strange thing I saw with them was that the children did not go to school in Girona, but seemed to do classes online”, said one neighbour.
Even if the autopsy shows that the child died of natural causes, the
parents could still be charged with manslaughter if they are considered
to have been reckless in not seeking out medical treatment.
Source: The Telepgraph
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