Leyre died on 29 May after spending roughly two months in the burns unit at Hospital Virgen del Rocío in Seville. The 16-month-old suffered severe burns on 30 March while being bathed at home in Bormujos; reports said the injuries affected about 60% of her body.
Her mother, Andrea Burdalo, appeared before a Seville court as an investigated person on 4 November 2026. She said fear of losing custody and fear of reprisals from the child’s paternal family had led her to change her account of what happened. She had initially said she was bathing Leyre. Later, she said her then partner was bathing the child while she prepared items in a nearby room. The court’s inquiry has examined how small the apartment was and how long Leyre may have been exposed to hot water. It has also examined Burdalo’s location outside the bathroom.
Burdalo gave evidence as an investigated person in the case, a procedural status that does not amount to a finding of guilt. The lawyer representing Leyre’s biological father, who is acting as the private prosecution, said she answered questions from the judge and prosecutor. Her own defence team also questioned her. She declined to answer questions from the private prosecution. The father’s request for her examination followed a prosecution report that questioned aspects of the accounts given by both adults.
The lawyer said the investigation had not established what happened inside the home. Prosecutors and the private prosecution have argued that Burdalo had a heightened duty to protect Leyre as her main caregiver and may have seriously neglected that responsibility. She is being investigated for alleged negligent homicide under Article 142.1 of Spain’s Criminal Code, which carries a potential prison sentence of between one and four years for the relevant offence. The investigation concerns who was bathing the child and whether her caregiver could have detected or prevented the danger.
A separate Spanish court case involving allegations against Constitutional Court judges was covered in earlier court reporting; it is unrelated to the Bormujos investigation.
The lawyer also said a report by plastic surgery specialists at Hospital Virgen del Rocío was among the steps still outstanding at the time. A neighbour was due to be questioned about whether she had heard voices or signs of an argument. The private prosecution was also considering asking for precautionary measures to ensure Burdalo remained available throughout the proceedings.
The former partner had earlier told investigators that the burns resulted from a household accident. He said he left the child in the bath to fetch a towel and heard her scream. In June, the judge kept him at liberty, citing the absence at that stage of indications of deliberate intent. He was ordered to report to the court every 15 days, surrender his passport and remain in Spain, according to information from the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Andalucía. The decision did not close the investigation into the circumstances of Leyre’s injuries.
At the courthouse, Leyre’s paternal grandfather, José Antonio Molino, rejected the possibility that she had died naturally or accidentally. “I am absolutely certain she was killed. That is why I am here. I will not stop until I know the truth about what happened to my granddaughter,” he said, in words translated from Spanish.
