A horrified dad has claimed that he was given a doll to bury instead of his daughter’s remains.
The paternal family was organising the newborn’s funeral when they noticed the alleged deception.
The deceased tot’s father Duvier Alexander Morales has since filed a complaint against his unnamed ex – the mother of the baby – after she allegedly made several contradictory statements.
The Public Ministry also announced that she gave three different versions of events and is investigating the matter.
The mother stated that the baby was born in Panama City, Panama, on 10 October and passed away in intensive care three days later.
However, due to weeks of protests and road closures in the country, the body could not be transferred to Duvier’s hometown of Bugaba until 14 December with the funeral planned for the following day.
Upon inspecting the coffin, Morales’ mother claims she noticed that the deceased’s gloves and shoes did not appear like those of a real baby.
The paternal family then realised that the coffin allegedly contained a dressed doll and not the baby’s body.
Duvier said: “They told us that my baby died shortly after birth.
“They played with our feelings.”
He also claimed that he was prevented from attending any of the post-mortem appointments taking place in the Panamanian capital prior to the funeral.
The family asked to see the baby’s birth certificate at the hospital but were unable to find any evidence from their records.
The authorities are currently investigating the baby’s mother, the hospital, and the registry office to clarify all the facts.
They reportedly seized the doll as evidence that several crimes could have been committed if the paternal family had been deceived.
Children’s rights defender Lucy Córdoba has requested a thorough investigation to determine if the girl really died.
The girl’s uncle Carlos Iván González Morales said: “You can’t mess with people’s suffering, we demand justice and we want to see the baby.”
The investigation continues.
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