“It was very intense because we were right next to each other,” says Dyon. “There were also police all around us.” He could never have imagined that it would turn out this way last October.
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In the night of 1 to 2 October, it all went wrong. Yara’s mother called 911: Yara had lost a heartbeat and had to be resuscitated.
In the hospital, Yara fought for her life for 24 hours. “Doctors had no idea what was wrong with her,” Dyon, Yara’s father, told me. He took care of Yara in co-parenting. Yara was with him that Monday through Wednesday. Thursday he brought Yara back to her mother. “There was nothing wrong then, she was just as happy as ever.”
SIDS
The doctors did all kinds of tests after the death, but couldn’t find anything that had stopped Yara’s heart from beating. “They said she died of SIDS.”
Dyon and Yara’s mother were devastated. In a haze of sadness they organized the funeral. “I sat next to her. We shared our grief together, I had my arm around her.”
unexpectedly pregnant
But that sense of joint mourning quickly faded as Dyon heard more and more crazy stories about Yara’s mother, whom he doesn’t really know well. “We were dating for a few weeks when she unexpectedly got pregnant. I didn’t want to keep it, she did. We got into a fight about that.”
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During the pregnancy, the relationship remained problematic. “But the moment she went into labor, I knew I wanted to be there for Yara in the end. I fell in love with her immediately when she was born. She looks like me. When she was with me, she was sweet and calm.”
drug use
Dyon immediately bonded with Yara. After hearing vague stories about Yara’s mother’s drug use after her death, he set out to investigate. “Everyone had a strange feeling about the death: my family, her family. What Yara’s mother told was not right, the times did not match and people who were with me in the hospital said she looked so strange. I was so upset that I hadn’t noticed.”
He went to Yara’s mother’s hometown and spoke to several people. “I heard she was heavily on cocaine and GHB.” Dyon recorded the statements and took them to the police.
Mother arrested
The Public Prosecution Service opened an investigation. Around that time, the hospital called: a large amount of GHB had been found in Yara’s urine. “She died from that.” A week later, Yara’s mother was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.
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“My whole world turned around. That funeral felt so fake, a play. Everything was suddenly different. That’s why I want Yara to be buried near me, and not in Yara’s mother’s hometown. I have to drive eighty kilometers every time to visit her grave. I just want Yara near me, where she was cared for with love.”
Move grave
Dyon officially had no parental authority over Yara, so transfer is not possible. “I am still working on getting the authority, and with it the burial right. That can probably only be done after a conviction by the judge. That will probably take a long time.”
He can pay for all legal costs, the transfer and another headstone with a donation campaign, which was set up by Dyon’s sister and Yara’s aunt. They have raised more than 20,000 euros. “I want her to be near me so I can go there often, and all the family lives around here.”
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Response from the mother’s lawyer
Today’s hearing was not yet substantive, but it was about additional research wishes from Yara’s mother’s lawyer. Among other things, she wanted a second opinion on the forensic investigation that was carried out. The requests have all been granted. “We are satisfied with how today went,” says lawyer Yvonne van der Hut. “Further investigations are underway to clarify what happened.”
It was also ruled in court today that Yara’s mother no longer needs to remain in pre-trial detention. She is now obliged to go to a special clinic, where she will be treated and must remain pending the trial. The next hearing in the case will be on October 5. That is not yet a substantive session.
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:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/J2ZLNRYNMFCI7DZ6JIA4G5MISM.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 "Manufacturers and distributors on trial in New York over the opioid crisis")