{"id":217638,"date":"2023-12-15T11:00:38","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T11:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/?p=217638"},"modified":"2023-12-15T11:00:38","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T11:00:38","slug":"how-alex-battys-mother-went-from-law-student-to-cult-member","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/world-news\/how-alex-battys-mother-went-from-law-student-to-cult-member\/","title":{"rendered":"How Alex Batty&apos;s mother &apos;went from law student to cult member"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1> How Alex Batty&#8217;s mother &#8216;went from law student to &#8216;chaotic&#8217; cult member who left her young son in Morocco to live in Bali with a new boyfriend and sent her mother a \u00a3500,000 &#8216;bill&#8217; for &#8216;her use of&#8217; Alex&#8217;<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Alex Batty was just 11 when he was taken away from his legal guardian\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>He was left behind in Morocco by his mum, who fled to Bali with her boyfriend<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Melanie was a law student who couldn&#8217;t hold a job down , her mother said<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A newly resurfaced interview with the grandmother of a British boy who went missing for six years has revealed that his mother went from being a law student to a &#8216;chaotic&#8217; cult member in a few short years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Alex Batty, from Oldham, Lancashire, was just 11 when he did not return from a holiday to Spain with his mother Melanie, then 37, and grandfather David, then 58, in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>His grandmother and legal guardian, Susan Caruana, said she believed her daughter and ex-husband David had taken him abroad to live an &#8216;alternative lifestyle&#8217;. Reports have suggested he was living in &#8216;a kind of itinerant commune&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, he was found by a French student after a four-day hike after fleeing the &#8216;community&#8217; located in the foothills of the French Pyrenees, in an effort to reach his grandmother in England.<\/p>\n<p>Alex, now 17, is refusing to reveal where he has been living for the last six years, or where his mum, who he described as &#8216;a little crazy&#8217;, is hiding out.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In 2018, Susan revealed that Melanie was a rebellious teenager, partying hard, drinking, and Susan and her husband, Dave, struggled to cope with her.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>She went to college and got a law degree but couldn&#8217;t hold down a job. In 2006, she gave birth to Alex.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/10\/78997211-12867671-image-a-45_1702634502996.jpg\" height=\"777\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Melanie (pictured) was unable to hold a job down after getting a law degree, and led a hippie-ish lifestyle in a commune<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/10\/78997215-12867671-image-m-49_1702634544879.jpg\" height=\"683\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Alex (picture) was taken away from his grandmother, then his legal guardian, in 2017\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/10\/78997213-12867671-image-a-47_1702634507743.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Susan said she was heartbroken after Melanie told her she was taking Alex away from her<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/10\/78997209-12867671-image-a-48_1702634509822.jpg\" height=\"777\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>David (pictured) and Susan separated after they were unable to deal with their daughter&#8217;s erratic behaviour<\/p>\n<p>Susan said: &#8216;I lived nearby, and I saw Alex every day, I looked after him a lot and we had such a close bond. I loaned loads of money to Melanie, to care for Alex, but she just blew the lot.&#8217;<\/p>\n<h3>READ MORE:\u00a0British police begin hunt for Alex Batty&#8217;s mother and grandfather and say the boy spoke to his overjoyed grandmother last night as detectives fly out to search French region known for its hippy camps<\/h3>\n<p>Susan and Dave by now had separated, and Dave was receiving therapy for health issues. Afterwards, he changed dramatically.<\/p>\n<p>Susan, from Oldham, said: &#8216;Dave went through therapy and afterwards he began acting strangely. He became very spiritual. He didn&#8217;t believe in working any more and so he fell behind with his mortgage and bills and the bailiffs were called in.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Melanie became caught up with his new lifestyle too and she got involved with a cult. She began travelling abroad, with Alex. Their lives were chaotic. Melanie didn&#8217;t believe in school or education. I was really worried about them.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>In 2014, Melanie took Alex, aged eight, to live in a commune in Morocco. Dave soon followed.<\/p>\n<p>Susan said: &#8216;I was devastated. I was so close to Alex and I missed him terribly. From Facebook I could see that the conditions there were terrible.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Then, Melanie went off to live in Bali with a new boyfriend, leaving Alex behind. I was panic-stricken and I paid for a flight home for him.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Alex began living with Susan. Melanie remained in Bali and contacted Alex intermittently on Skype.<\/p>\n<p>Susan said: &#8216;I got Alex into a local school in Oldham and he was really settled and happy. He was so pleased to have a home.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Susan applied to the courts for guardianship of Alex, but Melanie refused to recognise the court action.<\/p>\n<p>Susan said: &#8216;She returned home \u2013 and I paid for her flight. She refused to co-operate with the courts, but she sent me an invoice for \u00a3500,000 for use of her &#8216;property&#8217; \u2013 Alex.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/10\/78969705-12867671-Alex_decided_flee_the_spiritual_community_and_his_mother_and_gra-a-15_1702636990655.jpg\" height=\"424\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Alex decided flee the &#8216;spiritual community&#8217; and his mother and grandfather in the rural foothills of the French Pyrenees (file image)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/10\/78970051-12867671-Fabien_Accidini_pictured_a_chiropractic_student_from_Toulouse_wa-a-51_1702634756689.jpg\" height=\"543\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Fabien Accidini (pictured), a chiropractic student from Toulouse, was driving along a road in the mountainous region of Aude when he spotted Alex walking along in pouring rain<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/10\/78969259-12867671-Alex_said_he_had_been_trekking_across_the_French_Pyrenees_for_fo-a-52_1702634766629.jpg\" height=\"532\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Alex said he had been trekking across the French Pyrenees for four days before Fabien spotted him &#8211; and one of the first things Alex did was message his grandmother from the student&#8217;s phone to say that he loves her and wants to come home<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I was horrified. It was so upsetting.&#8217;<\/p>\n<h3>READ MORE:\u00a0Missing British boy Alex Batty who has not been seen since his mother and grandfather &#8216;abducted him&#8217; in Spain six years ago aged 11 is found alive and well in France after fleeing &#8216;spiritual community&#8217;, officials say<\/h3>\n<p>Susan was awarded guardianship of Alex in 2016. Melanie refused to attend court for the ruling.<\/p>\n<p>Susan said: &#8216;I was happy for Melanie to see Alex, I wanted to them to have contact. But her lifestyle was still chaotic.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>In October 2017, Melanie asked if she could take Alex away on holiday to Marbella.<\/p>\n<p>Susan said: &#8216;I was very torn. I was worried about her taking him. But Alex was desperate to go on holiday with his mum. I didn&#8217;t want to let him down.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I&#8217;d had to cancel a holiday earlier in the year because I&#8217;d been in hospital, so it seemed very cruel to deny him the opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Dave said he would go along too. I trusted him. I never thought he would lie to me or compromise Alex&#8217;s safety.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;During the holiday, Alex called me, and said he was on the beach. But in the background, I heard his mum shout: Switch the phone off. No more contact.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;My heart dropped. I was frantic.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Melanie then sent a video message, saying Alex would not be returning, because she wanted him to follow her lifestyle.<\/p>\n<p>Susan said: &#8216;I was heartbroken. I blamed myself because I had trusted them with him.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;On the video, Alex said it was a million times better being with his mum and granddad. It hurt me a bit, but I knew he was just being a kid, enjoying the freedom.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>He reached out to her for the first time in six years in an emotional Facebook message which he sent using the phone of a French student who found him\u00a0wandering Toulouse.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>By some stroke of luck, Fabien Accidini, a chiropractic student from Toulouse, was driving along a road while delivering medicines in the mountainous region of Aude when he spotted Alex walking along in pouring rain at around 2am on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>A freezing and exhausted Alex, who was carrying a skateboard, gratefully accepted Fabien&#8217;s offer of a lift and eventually told him of his extraordinary bid to leave southern France and get home to his family in England.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Hello grandma is me Alex i am in France Toulouse i really hope that you recieve this message,&#8217; 17-year-old Alex Batty told his legal guardian in the desperate text, with the heartbreaking sign off &#8216;i love you i want to come home&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>Susan told The Times: &#8216;I spoke to him this afternoon and it is definitely him. I was speaking to a boy when he was with us and now I&#8217;m speaking to a man. I&#8217;m hoping he will return next week. I wish we didn&#8217;t have the weekend upon us. It&#8217;s quite unbelievable when you don&#8217;t know if somebody&#8217;s dead or alive.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-12867671\/How-Alex-Battys-mother-went-law-student-chaotic-cult-member-left-young-son-Morocco-live-Bali-new-boyfriend-sent-mother-500-000-bill-use-Alex.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How Alex Batty&#8217;s mother &#8216;went from law student to &#8216;chaotic&#8217; cult member who left her young son in Morocco to live in Bali with a new boyfriend and sent her mother a \u00a3500,000 &#8216;bill&#8217; for &#8216;her use of&#8217; Alex&#8217; Alex Batty was just 11 when he was taken away from his legal guardian\u00a0 He was left behind in Morocco by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":217637,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How Alex Batty&amp;apos;s mother &amp;apos;went from law student to cult member - Best World News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/world-news\/how-alex-battys-mother-went-from-law-student-to-cult-member\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Alex Batty&amp;apos;s mother &amp;apos;went from law student to cult member - Best World News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How Alex Batty&#8217;s mother &#8216;went from law student to &#8216;chaotic&#8217; cult member who left her young son in Morocco to live in Bali with a new boyfriend and sent her mother a \u00a3500,000 &#8216;bill&#8217; for &#8216;her use of&#8217; Alex&#8217; Alex Batty was just 11 when he was taken away from his legal guardian\u00a0 He was left behind in Morocco by [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/world-news\/how-alex-battys-mother-went-from-law-student-to-cult-member\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Best World News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-15T11:00:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Poulin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/How-Alex-Battys-mother-went-from-law-student-to-cult-member.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Poulin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/world-news\/how-alex-battys-mother-went-from-law-student-to-cult-member\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/world-news\/how-alex-battys-mother-went-from-law-student-to-cult-member\/\",\"name\":\"How Alex Batty&apos;s mother &apos;went from law student to cult member - Best World News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-15T11:00:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-15T11:00:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/world-news\/how-alex-battys-mother-went-from-law-student-to-cult-member\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/world-news\/how-alex-battys-mother-went-from-law-student-to-cult-member\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/world-news\/how-alex-battys-mother-went-from-law-student-to-cult-member\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"World News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/category\/world-news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"How Alex Batty&apos;s mother &apos;went from law student to cult member\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/\",\"name\":\"Best World News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\",\"name\":\"Poulin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d4e61f3f3828292a4daf0b7f321ab5a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d4e61f3f3828292a4daf0b7f321ab5a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Poulin\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Alex Batty&apos;s mother &apos;went from law student to cult member - Best World News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/world-news\/how-alex-battys-mother-went-from-law-student-to-cult-member\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Alex Batty&apos;s mother &apos;went from law student to cult member - Best World News","og_description":"How Alex Batty&#8217;s mother &#8216;went from law student to &#8216;chaotic&#8217; cult member who left her young son in Morocco to live in Bali with a new boyfriend and sent her mother a \u00a3500,000 &#8216;bill&#8217; for &#8216;her use of&#8217; Alex&#8217; Alex Batty was just 11 when he was taken away from his legal guardian\u00a0 He was left behind in Morocco by [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/world-news\/how-alex-battys-mother-went-from-law-student-to-cult-member\/","og_site_name":"Best World News","article_published_time":"2023-12-15T11:00:38+00:00","author":"Poulin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/How-Alex-Battys-mother-went-from-law-student-to-cult-member.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Poulin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/world-news\/how-alex-battys-mother-went-from-law-student-to-cult-member\/","url":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/world-news\/how-alex-battys-mother-went-from-law-student-to-cult-member\/","name":"How Alex Batty&apos;s mother &apos;went from law student to cult member - Best World News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-12-15T11:00:38+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-15T11:00:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/world-news\/how-alex-battys-mother-went-from-law-student-to-cult-member\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/world-news\/how-alex-battys-mother-went-from-law-student-to-cult-member\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/world-news\/how-alex-battys-mother-went-from-law-student-to-cult-member\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"World News","item":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/category\/world-news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"How Alex Batty&apos;s mother &apos;went from law student to cult member"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/","name":"Best World News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609","name":"Poulin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d4e61f3f3828292a4daf0b7f321ab5a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d4e61f3f3828292a4daf0b7f321ab5a8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Poulin"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217638"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}