Spain detains U.S. couple after decomposed body of child found in home
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MADRID, SPAIN - JANUARY 08: Ambulances prepare to leave the area after a suspicious package which was thought to be a bomb was found not to be dangerous at Nuevos Ministerios Train Station on January 8, 2015 in Madrid, Spain. Twelve people were killed yesterday including two police officers, as two gunmen open fire at the offices of the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo. French Police have made seven arrests in connection with the attack while further violence today included a gunman killing a policewoman in the southern suburb of Montrouge. (Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images) (2015 Getty Images)
An American couple has been arrested in Spain on suspicion of reckless homicide after the badly decomposed body of a child was found at their family home in the northeastern city of Girona, police said Wednesday.
A 39-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman with American citizenship are in detention waiting to be questioned by an investigating magistrate, according to a police statement.
The arrest was made Tuesday at the couple's two-story apartment where they lived with their three children, police said. The father is an engineer, but it wasn't immediately clear what part of the U.S. the family came from or how long they had been living in Spain, police said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The child's body was found lying on a bed, under several blankets, police said.
They said an autopsy had been ordered, but didn't say how old the child was.
Officers were called to the building by the apartment's owner who had gone to collect unpaid rent but detected loud noises inside and was denied access, news agency Europa Press said, citing police sources.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it was aware of the arrests and provides assistance to Americans detained while abroad but declined further comment, citing the Privacy Act that provides safeguards against invasion of personal privacy through the misuse of records by federal agencies.
Police said the investigation to determine the circumstances of the child's death is ongoing.