This Thursday, the social services of the Almería Provincial Council were scheduled to visit the house where 4-year-old Luca lives. But the visit did not take place because they killed this innocent child 24 hours ago. Those arrested are his mother, Barbara, who has a history of abusing her son, and her former partner, Juan David, who also has a history of abusing Luca. Public order You should feel ashamed that you have failed a vulnerable minor: his death could have been avoided.
“This has no explanation,” admits the mayor of Jarocha, Pedro Zamora, in a display of honesty that honors him, so that the death of this child is not falsely closed, and the criminal consequences are reflected in the review of public order that must protect any minor. “How do I explain that something went wrong?”
EL ESPAÑOL was able to rebuild The series of nonsense that led to the death of a child Who should have been protected, either by his family or by the Andalusian Junta, the Almería District Council, the Garrocha City Council or the Juvenile Public Prosecutor’s Office. It all starts with a preliminary report from the Civil Guard that reveals the origin of the bruises sustained by this child who sometimes taught early childhood education at the school. The former Mary Orta.
Barbara (21 years old) “was arrested and investigated a few months ago on charges of abusing her son.” This was confirmed by a source from the Armed Institute. But this “toxin-addicted” mother, who was born in Venezuela, Luca’s guardianship was not removed as a precautionDespite this violent incident, his heavy drug use, and the fact that he had a biological father in another town in the same province of Almería, he had extended family in Jarocha: his grandparents.
There were options to stop living with her mother, without suddenly breaking the maternal bond. But nothing was done. After this incident of child abuse, in October, another new attack was reported in Lucca. This time, it stars Venezuelan Juan David, the young boy’s stepfather because he had a romantic relationship with Bárbara. “The current boyfriend was detained on charges of sexual violence and domestic violence, with the child injured.”According to this source from the Civil Guard. In fact, Vera District Court No. 1 approved a restraining order on October 20.
“A restraining order was issued for both mother and son.“, according to a spokesman for the Supreme Court of Justice. But custody was not withdrawn from the mother who had already been arrested for abusing Luca. This child therefore did not leave the environment of his abusers, either under the guardianship of the Andalusian Junta, his biological father or his grandparents. Moreover, this poor creature continued to live poorly in the room of Patera’s apartment in Jarocha.
A panoramic view of Garrocha, the city of Almeria where Luca lived with her mother Barbara.
The abuse was also rife with sexual assaults.As described on TVE News after access to the boy’s autopsy. So Luka had all sorts of problems compounded by the obvious instability caused by her mother, Babara, because she did not know in her four years of life what it was like to have a permanent home. He first resided in Fira. Then in Jarocha, on Viola Street, where his mother had registered a year before, and after that, they moved again for the third time, settling in a room in Patera’s apartment.
This child lived without the privacy that usually characterizes an apartment shared with other migrant families, without his own room or space to play. All this, in a childhood marked by the separation of her parents and living with a man who mistreated her mother and was fond of Santeria, but that did not prevent Barbara from becoming pregnant with Juan David. Despite this history in the ministry From social inclusion, youth, families and equality we realize this “There is no type of secondary protection file.” About Luca.
But they point out the following: “Jarocha is a city with a population of less than 20 thousand people, so it cannot be ruled out that its city council depends on Community social services of the Almería Provincial Council“.
From the information provided by the Civil Guard to this newspaper, it appears that during the last three months of his life, there was documented evidence of the ill-treatment to which this child was subjected, but, The juvenile prosecution did not even withdraw custody of his mother as a precaution.So that it is transferred to the hands of a center run by the Andalusian Military Council. Sources from the Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that “the Public Prosecutor’s Office only acts upon request for reports from social services.” They add:
“The Juvenile Prosecution works with confirmed information from community social services and state security forces and bodies. Community social services began interviews with the minor’s mother, at the request of the Juvenile Prosecution on October 24, 2025. To date, community social services have not sent us any psychosocial report.On this basis, we can urge the minor to withdraw. So far, no report has been received from the Juvenile Prosecution Office regarding the mother’s drug addiction.”
The “Luca case” ball is passed from one administration to another – in response to EL ESPAÑOL’s questions -. So that the Almería Provincial Council confirms that the wheels of public order have begun to move in the countdown to this terrible murder: “With regard to the social services of the Provincial Council, we have acted in a timely manner, at the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which asked us Dated November 18, a report on the minor’s condition “As part of the procedures they were implementing.”
“The mother was interviewed on 20 November by a team consisting of an educator, a psychologist and a social worker. This initial interview is complemented by a home visit, scheduled for 4 December, which This can never be done since the sad result occurred“On October 20, the abuse of the child by his mother Barbara and her husband Juan David was already known, but no action was taken until a month later and without the necessary force.
This is on Wednesday at 11:30 pm A civil guard collided with Luca’s trembling legs. An old Civil War bunker looms largelocated in Marina de la Torre beach Mojacar. His mother supposedly abandoned him there, leaving half his little body stuck in the shed that also served as a warehouse for metals unloaded by ships.
A hut on the beach of Marina de la Torre in Mojacar (Almería), where the child’s lifeless body was found.
“This was the area of responsibility of social services,” confirms a source from the Almería Provincial Council, insisting that they only did what the juvenile prosecutor’s office asked them to do and that they could not answer questions like these:
– Was a file opened to withdraw custody of Barbara, given that she was a drug addict, and the Civil Guard arrested her on charges of mistreating her son, and because the minor was also subjected to abuse by his stepfather?
– Almeria Regional Council: As you know, the case is subject to summary confidentiality and the investigating body must evaluate whether it answers some of the questions you are asking us or whether it is within summary confidentiality.
Civil Guard Barbara and her former partner Juan David will be brought to justice on Saturday. The investigation aims to clarify the role each of them played in the execution of Luca, 4 years old, whose body showed signs of violence after she was on the beach. From Marina de la Torre Mojacar, next to a stuffed animal of Disney’s Lilo and Stitch, after his mother sent some audio recordings to his grandparents.
“The minor’s mother sent an audio recording to the grandparents asking for forgiveness for what she had done“For this reason, the search for the child began,” sources close to the investigation conducted by the Civil Guard explained. “The grandparents were the ones who raised the alarm about what happened.” After this horrific discovery, photos began to spread on social media, showing video clips of the stepfather, Juan David, abusing Luca. The grandfather also speaks in La Voz de Almería, noting that Bárbara killed her son, in despair, because of the abuse he suffered from Juan David, so that Luca would no longer suffer: “The man she lived with made her do something.”
Video on networks
It is worth asking why the family did not take Luca in, to get him out of this coexistence characterized by sexual violence and child abuse. It is also worth asking why those who recorded the child protecting his stepfather’s face did not go to the Civil Guard barracks to report what they saw. Today no one wanted to talk at the day care center where Luca was supposedly bruised. Currently, the boy’s grandparents testified on Friday in the Almería courts.
The mayor of Jarquoha, Pedro Zamora, admits that this issue deserves deep reflection on the system: “The normal thing is that the Civil Guard would have informed the social services.” “But we have no involvement from city council social services or the local police.” “Who do I blame?”