Baby killer jailed after blaming ghosts for injuries

A man who initially blamed ghosts for a baby’s fatal injuries has been sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in jail for murder.

Czech man Marek Holub pleaded guilty to murder, child neglect and child cruelty in relation to the death of 14-month-old Czech baby Santino Balaz in Birmingham, England, West Midlands Police advised on Thursday.

Santino was assaulted on multiple occasions while in the care of Holub and his partner Tereza Lackova, who was the baby’s half-sister and primary carer.

The assaults allegedly started in November last year, and Santino died on New Year’s Day.

The couple initially claimed Santino’s injuries were caused by ghosts in their flat, but eventually changed their pleas to guilty.

“The couple claimed that either the spirit of Lackova’s grandmother, who had died a short time ago, or the death of the woman who occupied their flat before them, had come back to injure Santino,” Detective Inspector Justin Spanner said.

He said the couple also shared images of the injuries on Facebook.

“We know from our enquiries that the pair had shared photos of Santino’s injuries on their Facebook accounts and claimed the ghosts had caused them; unfortunately no-one ever came forward to report concerns around these images.”

Lackova was sentenced to five years in jail for allowing the death of a child and child neglect.