Courts Award Orihuela Grandma Custody of Granddaughter After Mother Is Murdered

An Alicante court has officially ratified the decision to give an Orihuela woman custody of her five-year-old granddaughter, who was left orphaned after her father murdered her mother two years ago. Maruja Cuenca, 63, had been caring for Mari Carmen since the child’s mother, Maruja’s daughter, was killed by her violent husband, but Orihuela Social Services placed her in foster care in August.

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Maruja was granted an order back in October by a higher court in Alicante, with prosecutors strongly criticising the actions of Orihuela’s Social Services department. A judge said that it had been ‘proven’ that Mari was ‘suffering emotionally’ through being separated from her grandmother, and that she ‘did not suffer any psychological damage’ whilst living with her late mother’s mother.