Catherine Birmingham And Nathan Trevallion they will no longer live in their homes in the forest Palmoli (Chieti) with her three children. This is the decision issued by the L’Aquila Youth Court Judge yesterday afternoon, confirming the suspension of parental rights for the former equestrian instructor from Melbourne (Australia) and former luxury furniture trader from England. The three small children – an eight-year-old girl and two six-year-old twins – were taken by social services to a protected facility in Vasto, where thanks to the mediation of lawyer Giovanni Angelucci they will be able to live together with their mother, but remain in separate rooms for now. Among the reasons for the provision, the judge reported the conditions the minors experienced in the former farmhouse: a critical property without running water, electricity, gas and bathrooms. Furthermore, the three minor children do not go to school (study at home using the un-schooling method) and do not socialize.
INTERVENTION
It was around 4pm when four cars of Carabinieri from Palmoli and Vasto in plain clothes and a nine-seater minibus arrived in the vicinity of the open field where the Anglo-Australian family’s country house stood, accompanied by social services, by the mayor Giuseppe Masciulli and by the special curator appointed by the L’Aquila Juvenile Court, lawyer Marika Bolognese, to take the three children and take them away from their lives based on the philosophy of the “noble savage” by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The procession inevitably attracted the attention of neighbors who were alerted by the arrival of the military. But after about 45 minutes of negotiations, Angelucci’s lawyers managed to get an alternative solution from the police and social services, which allowed the 45-year-old Australian not only to remain in the women’s facility where her children will stay, but also to communicate by telephone with her husband Nathan, who was unable to see or hug them. As the family piled into lawyer Angelucci’s car to reach the new house in Vasto, far from the white horses and animals that inhabited the grounds in the woods, Nathan decided to follow the procession in his car until he arrived in front of the family home, where he waited to make sure that his loved ones were okay, before returning to the former farmhouse which would be slightly emptier than yesterday afternoon. «These are things that we thought we had clarified – explains attorney Angelucci – but it turns out that these need to be looked into further and we are willing to do so».
TESTIMONY
The family has few neighbors, a secluded life, an unconventional rhythm, but according to many residents, characterized by serenity. “They told me that a vehicle was coming to pick up the children,” said a friend who was following the early stages of the operation. «A message was immediately sent to Nathan’s closest contacts, requesting assistance. But none of us could get close.” Some of the family’s acquaintances, having received a request for help, were unable to reach them. They found themselves in front of a barrier and soldiers demanding documents from anyone trying to overcome the blockade. The only person who managed to get through was a family friend, a 36-year-old man who later witnessed the incident: «When I arrived there were police, the mayor and a nine-seater minibus ready to leave. It was dark, the atmosphere was very tense and it was raining.” The witness reported that he was stopped twice before he could pass: «Then Nathan came out of the house and, after a short conversation, they let me in. I found Catherine restless but calm, everything happened in a few minutes: she told the children to take pajamas, toothbrushes and put them in backpacks, adding some fruit to eat. He tried to control the situation. Then they left in the lawyer’s car. The little ones seemed calm, but with eyes full of questions about what was happening and we played a little. They themselves offered me a game, as if it were a normal, everyday moment. The mother remained beside her children the entire time and accompanied them when they were transferred to the facility.” News of the transfer began to circulate quickly in the small community of Palmoli. “There was tension,” another witness confirmed.
