A witness declares that the father of the allegedly mistreated baby shook the crib abruptly
The statement of the woman with whom they shared a room at Vall d'Hebron will serve as evidence at trial
BarcelonaA witness in the case investigating the alleged mistreatment of a baby by a couple has testified that the man was shaking the infant's crib violently. According to legal sources consulted by ARA, this is the woman with whom they shared a room at Vall d'Hebron Hospital, where the medical staff referred them after they had visited four other health centers in the days before the couple's arrest. The same woman alerted hospital staff that the child was not being well cared for, all just hours before the child abuse protocol was activated.
Legal sources indicate that the woman explained "what she heard" from the room, although they assure that when she was asked again about what had happened, she said she had not seen it because the curtain separating the two patients was drawn. Regarding the baby's mother, the witness stated that she always noticed normal behavior.
The statement was taken this Monday as pre-constituted evidence, as advanced by
El Periódico
and confirmed by ARA. This means that the witness's statement was recorded and could be used as evidence in the trial. The judge opted for this option considering the possibility that the witness, who is foreign, may not be available to testify in Barcelona when the trial takes place.
The fact that Monday's statement could be used as evidence in the trial meant that the investigated parties had the right to be present. For this reason, yesterday for a few hours the father and mother of the infant were released to attend the statement at the City of Justice. In contrast, the lawyers defending the father and mother listened to the witness's statement by videoconference.
Appeals against imprisonment
Meanwhile, both the man and the woman have appealed to the Barcelona Court the interlocutory decision with which the judge for Violence against Children and Adolescents sent them to provisional prison on March 20th. Both, separately because they have different lawyers, have presented their arguments to ask the court to release them on provisional liberty while the investigation of the case progresses.
For the moment, the baby's father has presented the investigating judge with a medical report signed by a private practitioner stating that the man is a carrier of a gene related to muscular dystrophy and collagen deficiency. Now the defense requests clarification as to whether the baby is also a carrier of this gene and if it could be the reason or trigger for the injuries.
Pending the completion of these and other medical reports, legal sources consulted by ARA point out that another line of defense that both the father and the mother are trying to allege is that the baby's anal injuries are due to intestinal problems and not sexual assault.