Police have arrested the father of an eighteen-month-old girl whose body was found in Zarautz, Guizpuzcoa, on Thursday. The arrest was the result of an earlier search and capture warrant.
The detainee, aged 41 years, has an extensive criminal history including eleven arrests, several of them for assaulting his partner and one for kidnapping his daughter earlier this year.
The young girl’s body was found on Thursday, floating in the water near the sea wall in Zarautz.
The father had called the police at 05:20 to report the girl missing, saying that she had been spending the night with him camping in the Montetxio park. A search was organised and four hours later the lifeless body of the young girl was found.
On July 18th, the father was arrested in Galdakao, Vizcaya, after having allegedly kidnapped his daughter. He was found after a neighbour reported seeing the young girl wandering around town all night on her own.
The day before, July 17th, the mother had returned from abroad with their daughter to finalise some outstanding legal paperwork relating to her former partner. She agreed to meet with her former partner at a house in Zarautz but it all turned nasty and she was beaten repeatedly, suffering head and face wounds.
The woman fled from the house to escape the beatings and when she later returned, her daughter had gone. Her former partner told her that he had taken the girl and that she would never see her anymore.
A full investigation is being carried out into the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of the young girl.