Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

Picture Credit: CEN

An American couple has been charged with attempted murder after their 16-day-old daughter was left fighting for her life in intensive care with broken ribs.

Monique Vazquez Selene and the girl’s father, Christopher Filipini, both US nationals, were arrested in the town of Gerli, in the eastern Argentina province of Buenos Aires after the baby was taken to the Narciso Lopez hospital in the Lanus partido with multiple fractures and blows to her body.

One witness says she heard a nurse describe the girl as “totally destroyed” and the police were called after the baby was admitted into the hospital.

The grandmother, whose nationality has not been reported, said Selene and the girl’s father, Christopher Filipini, have drug problems, according to reports.

The officers tried to interview the mother, identified as Monique Vazquez Selene but she did not speak Spanish so they spoke to the victim’s grandmother, who reportedly told them she had found the girl beaten in the couple’s house.

The pair, who according to local media are both American citizens, were arrested and Mariela Bonafini, the prosecutor in charge of the investigation, confirmed the couple have been charged with attempted murder.

The daughter has now been transferred to the Sor Ludovica hospital in Buenos Aires in a “reserved” health state.

Diego Kravetz, the Secretary of Security in Lanus, told local media: “We are starting the process with the prosecution to ask the national direction of migrations to deport the couple as they represent a risk for all of society.”