A couple from Birmingham, England, who claimed ghosts had attacked and killed the baby they were looking after have been jailed.
Czech national Marek Holub murdered Santino Balaz on New Year’s Day this year when the child was just 14 months old,.
After attacking the baby, he post images of his injuries on Facebook along with a caption about him being possessed.
Holub, 27, told police that his house was haunted by the ghost of the baby’s grandmother and that could have been how Santino was hurt – but partway through the trial in Leicester he admitted killing him.
His girlfriend who was also the baby’s stepsister Tereza Lackova, 20, initially joined in with the claim that a spirits had killed the baby but she changed her plea to guilty as well, admitting neglect and allowing the death of a child.
Detective Inspector Justin Spanner of West Midlands Police said: ‘Santino was supposed to be in a safe environment and in the care of his own family.
‘The couple claimed that either the spirit of Lackova’s grandmother, who had died a short time ago, or the death of the woman who occupied their flat before them, had come back to injure Santino.
‘We know from our inquiries that the pair had shared photos of Santino’s injuries on their Facebook accounts and claimed the ghosts had caused them.
‘Unfortunately no one ever came forward to report concerns around these images.’
