Spanish court jails parents without bail after baby remains found in Santa Bàrbara home

Judicial ruling and formal charges

The presiding judge of Court of Instruction Number 2 in Amposta ordered provisional, unconditional prison without bail on Friday for the parents of an 18-month-old child whose remains were recovered in Santa Bàrbara, Tarragona. In a formal statement, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia confirmed that the case remains open under accusations of homicide, child abandonment, and animal abuse. Alongside preventive detention, the magistrate decreed civil measures suspending parental authority over the couple's other children. The entire legal proceeding remains subject to judicial secrecy while forensic teams conclude examinations.

Discovery at the residence and living conditions

Police actions began after the child's grandfather filed a missing person report over the previous weekend regarding the 18-month-old infant, named Nizan. Officers from the National Police located and detained both parents on Wednesday morning at the Estació del Nord in Valencia. On Thursday, authorities transported the couple back to their property on Carrer Major in Santa Bàrbara, where investigators subsequently discovered skeletal remains matching the missing infant inside the residence.

Inside the premises, cleaning personnel and forensic officers encountered severe waste accumulation and excrement, requiring biological hazard suits for entry. Emergency personnel located 150 deceased dogs kept inside dozens of cages throughout the property. Responders also rescued 28 surviving dogs that were suffering from severe dehydration, malnutrition, and poor hygienic conditions. Specialized units removed biological materials under health protocols, and the surviving animals were taken into municipal custody for veterinary attention.

Municipal response and administrative records

The town council of Santa Bàrbara decreed two official days of mourning, lowering town hall flags to half-mast and suspending institutional events. On Friday afternoon, approximately 200 local residents gathered in front of the town hall to observe a minute of silence. Santa Bàrbara Mayor Josep Lluís Gimeno stated that the family had lived in the municipality since 2019 after moving from Castellón, and that the victim was celebrated as the first baby born in the town during 2025.

The mayor described the state of the private residence during his address to reporters.

The property where they lived is their own and looks normal from the outside, but inside it was in a completely deplorable and unsanitary state. I do not know how they could accumulate so much garbage and mistreat the animals.

Social services from the Consell Comarcal del Montsià maintained active files on the household and had conducted prior interventions regarding animals at the property. The Generalitat Valenciana previously held custody over two older children from the family before losing contact following their relocation to Catalonia. Gimeno explained that the surviving children attended local schools and the mother engaged regularly in municipal life, even participating in a festival float during town festivities a month prior, while the father rarely interacted with community members. Local neighbors reported submitting complaints for over four years regarding noxious odors and continuous barking, and noted that the infant had missed all pediatric appointments since reaching five months of age.