The State Child Protection Inspectorate revealed that an inter-institutional meeting was convened on Thursday to decide on the future fate of the children. Both they and the Social Services of Rēzekne district emphasized that they had not received prior indications of problems in the family.
Justīne went missing from the family home in Rogovka in early May and despite extensive searches her body was not found until mid-June. Her father and stepmother are suspected of killing the young girl. Her body was found buried under a remote shack with signs of violence. Her father and stepmother have since appeared in court and remain in custody.
The representative of the State Child Protection Inspectorate, Taivo Trams, said that the family had actually come to the attention of the orphan's court only once, when Justine's biological mother was deprived of custody rights by a court ruling.
"On the part of the services, formally speaking, there was no indication that there was any reason to believe that something so unimaginably tragic could happen," Trams said.
In the meantime, the Social Services of Rēzekne region reminded that the family became residents of the municipality only half a year ago. During this time, they had applied to the service with two submissions in order to receive support payments for food and a benefit for a newborn as a family with many children.
"Neither the family doctor, nor the local community had any concerns that something was wrong," said Silvija Strankale, head of the Social Services of Rēzekne region.
