Police knocked on the door for 40 minutes while parents slept
A three-year-old child in diapers was running after a cat in the parking lot. The parents have been criminally charged, and the children have been removed from the family again.
A three-year-old child in diapers was running after a cat in the parking lot. The parents have been criminally charged, and the children have been removed from the family again.
Passersby in Zagreb on August 12, 2026, were shocked by the sight of a barefoot three-and-a-half-year-old child who was alone, in diapers, running after a cat in the parking lot in front of a building, crying. They immediately called the police at 192, and officers responding to the report of an abandoned child without parental supervision quickly arrived at the scene and began searching for the parents.
Fortunately, the child was unharmed and quickly taken into care. According to information from Jutarnji list, police officers spent as long as 40 minutes trying to wake the parents, who were asleep in the apartment, by knocking and ringing the doorbell. Apparently, they were unaware that their youngest child, who has three siblings, had gone outside alone.
The police took the 26-year-old mother and 27-year-old father to the police station and filed a criminal report for violating the child's rights. After spending the night under police supervision, they were handed over to the detention supervisor.
The prosecution then proposed a one-month detention due to the risk of reoffending, but the investigating judge at the Zagreb County Court rejected the proposal. The reason is that the children have been removed from the family and placed in a care home.
The police determined that the child managed to leave the apartment alone because the front door was faulty and unlocked. Police and other relevant services had intervened in this family before.
At the end of last year, police intervened due to a quarrel and fight between the young couple. That was when they first saw the poor conditions in which the six-member family lived. They found an unpleasant smell, dirty diapers, leftover food, and garbage scattered around the apartment, with lowered and broken blinds, while the children were very neglected and in dirty clothes.
This prompted the urgent removal of the children from the family. After the situation in the apartment calmed down, the children were returned to their parents under special supervision measures and intensive professional support.
However, as was again established, the parents did not demonstrate sufficient capacity to fulfill their parental duties, and months of monitoring the situation did not lead to the necessary improvement.
The parents claim that they regularly cooperate with the relevant social welfare center and follow their instructions and advice. They also emphasize that their home is no longer in the condition it was previously found in.
Zagreb police stated that all measures related to the children were carried out in cooperation with the relevant services involved in their care. The prosecution will decide on the further fate of the suspected parents.
