Christian dad loses battle against ex-wife to block teen son’s cremation after trying to ‘save his soul’

A CHRISTIAN dad has lost a battle against his ex-wife to block his teen son being cremated after trying to “save his soul”.

Gabrielle Barbus, 17, tragically took his own life last December after struggling with mental health issues.

The photographer still has not been laid to rest as his religious dad Stefan Barbus and mum Georgia Opritescu “do not agree on what should happen to his body”.

Stefan follows an orthodox branch of the Christian faith which holds the belief that a soul will be in peril if the body is not buried.

But Georgia wanted Gabrielle’s body to be cremated and his ashes scattered to “return him to nature” in the Devon countryside.

Stefan obtained an injunction last month – preventing the mum “from taking steps to dispose of Gabrielle’s body”.

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The pair, who divorced in 2013, went to court to ask Judge Jonathan Klein to decide how the teen should be laid to rest.

Judge Klein has now ruled Gabrielle should be cremated and the ashes scattered according to the wishes of his mum and older brother Antonio.

He found the little information that was available pointed towards Gabrielle’s own preference being for cremation.

The judge added: “Mr Barbus, having fought for what he sees as Gabrielle’s soul and lost…said that he didn’t want to attend a scattering ceremony as that would be distressing for him.

“It may be that the ashes are scattered in a particular place in Devon that was special to Gabrielle. If that is the case, I can only hope that Mr Barbus can have a measure of comfort if he knows where that happens and can visit that place to mourn.”

Gabrielle was brought up by his mum but Stefan “remained involved in his life”, the court heard.

Following the tragedy, he won an injunction after learning Georgia had obtained legal papers that would release Gabrielle’s body to her alone.

Giving evidence, Stefan said: “The reason why it is so important, the burial, is that he was baptised Christian orthodox.

“A burial respects the sanctity of the human body and soul and it is my belief that we will all one day be resurrected.

“That is why cremation is not acceptable as it destroys the body and is irreversible.

“This is not just a duty, this is a way of respect to my child. I’m not here to win something. We already lost our child.”

His barrister told the judge he must determine whether Gabrielle should be buried or cremated and, if cremated, what should happen to his ashes.

He said that if his request for burial were to fail, Stefan’s wish is that Gabrielle’s ashes “are interred so that there is a place where he and his family can visit…and light a candle”.

But Georgia told the judge she wants her son to be free and returned to nature by his ashes being scattered – not “confined” in a coffin or an urn in the ground.

She continued: “His father believes, but Gabrielle did not grow up in a religious household.

“My son Gabrielle and the life he lived would not want to be confined by the ground. It would upset me.

“I want him to be returned to the nature he loved, not confined.”

Her barrister claims that when he was 11, Gabrielle agreed that “cremation was a healthier way of dealing with saying goodbye to a loved one.”

The teen’s older brother Antonio backed his mum, telling the court: “I want Gabrielle to be free – for his remains to be part of the whole world, the natural world that he loved.

“To us a grave would not be a place of rest but a place of confinement, imposed upon him and us by his father.”

If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123.