Parents of abandoned baby girl sentenced to seven years in prison each for attempted murder

The judgment, handed down by the Malaga Provincial Court, follows a trial over the abandonment of the infant, who was found alive a few hours later by three police officers and subsequently named Ángela. Judicial sources confirmed that while the trial took place in February, the sentence has been appealed and remains pending higher court review.

According to court findings, the defendants arranged to meet in Malaga in October 2023 to attend a sporting event, with the man traveling from Fuengirola and the woman arriving from Cordoba.

That night, the woman gave birth. Shortly afterwards, in the early hours of the morning, she abandoned the newborn on a concrete forecourt near Victoria Kent railway station, wrapping her only in a towel and a sweatshirt she found along the way before leaving her near some hedges.

The court noted that neither defendant called emergency medical services or sought help from passersby. Two hours after leaving the infant, the couple walked into Victoria Kent station, boarded a Cercanías commuter train to Fuengirola, and stayed at the man's home before the woman returned to Cordoba the following day.

Neither notified authorities or medical services. Although the mother physically left the child, the court ruled that the father took no steps to intervene or prevent the act.

When social media reports revealed the baby had been found alive by a third party at around 8am, both defendants changed their mobile phone numbers to evade police tracking.

The court rejected defence arguments seeking to downgrade the charge to child neglect (abandono de menores), convicting both of attempted murder (asesinato en grado de tentativa). Judges ruled that both defendants were fully aware of the "real possibility" that the child would die given the time of night, the location, and the October weather conditions.

"Fortunately, the baby did not die," the ruling noted, pointing out that overnight temperatures in Malaga remained exceptionally mild at 21 degrees Celsius.

Alongside their seven-year prison terms, both parents have been placed under a ten-year restraining order from the victim, sentenced to ten years' probation following their release, and stripped of parental rights. The man denies being the father.

Ángela was placed into the care of a foster family soon after the incident.