After the bodies of two babies were found in the yard of a family in the municipality of Ljubescica on Tuesday, the police filed criminal charges against the parents. They have been arrested and are being questioned, the deputy district prosecutor of Varazdin, Darko Galic, told the Croatian news agency Hina on Wednesday.

According to the police, the officers of the Varazdin County Police Department received a complaint on Tuesday on suspicion of a criminal offence related to the violation of children’s rights in Ljubescica.

Galic said that after questioning the parents, if the State Attorney’s office proposes pre-trial detention, a hearing will be held later today to decide on the matter.

Bozinovic: Gross neglect led to the death of two children

Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Tuesday that a preliminary investigation had revealed suspicions that gross neglect in the upbringing of three children had led to the death of two of them. On suspicion of neglect and abuse, the third child, a four-year-old, was removed from the family in cooperation with the Croatian Social Centre, he added.

The local community and investigators are deeply shocked and horrified by the case.

Bozinovic said that the babies’ deliveries were apparently carried out at home, which is why the children were not registered in the registers and no one knew of their existence.

According to some media, the 34-year-old and the 38-year-old parents often moved back and forth between this northern Croatian region and Split, and the police authorities of Split, Zagreb and Varazdin are co-operating in the investigation of the case.