After spending five nights in cells in the Maó Comisaría, Mónica Juanatey was transferred to the women's prison in Palma on Wednesday, to await trial on the charge of killing her son, César, by drowning him in the bath in July 2008.
At the time of his death, nine-year old César was staying with his mother in rented accommodation in calle Amazonia, in Jardins de Malbúger (near the Plaza de Biosfera). Juanatey has confessed to drowning the youngster in the bath and placing his body and personal belongings in a suitcase which she then left in scrubland near Binidalí where it was discovered two weeks ago. Although the body had decomposed, police were able to identify the victim through some of the items left in the case and to trace the mother to her new home in calle Sant Llorenç in Maó, where she was arrested within three days of the investigation being opened.
Juanatey's court-appointed lawyer, Carlos Maceda, is contending that the defendent was suffering from a temporary mental disorder and is calling for psychiatric and psychological tests to be carried out to determine her degree of responsibility and awareness.
DNA TESTS
César's body is currently in the Anthropology Section of the Policía Científica in Madrid where DNA tests will be carried out and answers found to remaining questions in the investigation, such as the boy's height and weight at the time.
The results of these tests and those to be carried out on the mother, together with an examination of the crime scene, will determine the degree of murder that 30-year old Juanatey will be charged with, the sentences for which range from 10 to 25 years. Statements will also be taken from Juanatey's parents and from César's father.
Repatriation
The child's father and maternal grandparents have started the paperwork to have the body returned to Noia, their home town and César's place of birth.