British Bella May Culley 18, missing from Thailand, arrested in Georgia, May 2025

[musicaljoke]

Parents should just let her learn her lesson imo. Imagine plunging your parents into debt because you attempted to smuggle drugs. MOO

Yes, except there is the new grand baby to consider. What a dreadful mess for any parent to endure.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

215K pounds?
Is it like the price of a house in the UK?

In places like Teesside, where the family live, old terraced houses can be bought in run down inner city areas for as little as £20k, but would require complete renovation, ie back to the bricks. However, modern 2 bedroom terraced or semi-detached properties go from about £150k upwards.

 

[Inthedetails]

Yes, except there is the new grand baby to consider. What a dreadful mess for any parent to endure.

Agree. That's the anguish, imo.

jmo

 

[Lucy6226]

Yes, except there is the new grand baby to consider. What a dreadful mess for any parent to endure.

I would imagine family would step in to care for the baby whilst she serves her sentence.

 

[musicaljoke]

I would imagine family would step in to care for the baby whilst she serves her sentence.

From a comment above, I think that both her parents are working. Do grandparents get maternity leave in the UK?

 

[Dotta]

I hope not to sound insensitive, but...

A baby will have doctor's care, even though being in prison.
And will be with mother 24/7.
This situation lasts till the child is 3.

Georgian authorities stated (in DM link above)
the sum of money diminishes with each passing year in prison.

JMO

 

[MelmothTheLost]

From a comment above, I think that both her parents are working. Do grandparents get maternity leave in the UK?

No. Even paternity leave is fairly recent here, and not always taken.

 

[Lucy6226]

From a comment above, I think that both her parents are working. Do grandparents get maternity leave in the UK?

No. But they could apply for Kinship Carer or Guardianship and receive Social Care support and claim benefits for the baby. I know I'd rather give up work to look after my grandchild than it be raised in prison.

Edited to add:- there's also day nursery and childminders

Looking after someone else's child

Support and benefits you can get if you're looking after someone else's child, court orders - kinship care, private fostering, friends and family care

www.gov.uk

 

[MelmothTheLost]

No. But they could apply for Kinship Carer or Guardianship and receive Social Care support and claim benefits for the baby. I know I'd rather give up work to look after my grandchild than it be raised in prison.

Edited to add:- there's also day nursery and childminders

Looking after someone else's child

Support and benefits you can get if you're looking after someone else's child, court orders - kinship care, private fostering, friends and family care

www.gov.uk

That's certainly a possibility if/when the Georgian authorities allow the child to leave the country. UK social services do try to place children within the wider family but that is always following investigations and reports into the family context. It's therefore possible that the grandparents may be passed over in favour of other family members - or indeed placing the child into the wider foster system outside of the family. After all, the grandparents and other family members are going to be as much strangers to the child as any other foster family.

 

[Inthedetails]

I hope not to sound insensitive, but...

A baby will have doctor's care, even though being in prison.
And will be with mother 24/7.
This situation lasts till the child is 3.

Georgian authorities stated (in DM link above)
the sum of money diminishes with each passing year in prison.

JMO

Likely very true, but I can still envision grandparents doing their best to prevent that situation for a newborn grandchild. I'm sure they are frantic.

jmopinion

 

[Dotta]

Likely very true, but I can still envision grandparents doing their best to prevent that situation for a newborn grandchild. I'm sure they are frantic.

jmopinion

We must not forget that the baby has a FATHER, right?

And, legally, fathers have both
Rights & Obligations.

JMO

 

[Sarahlou]

We must not forget that the baby has a FATHER, right?

And, legally, fathers have both
Rights & Obligations.

JMO

Is it even known who the father is? She doesn't have to put him on the birth certificate, so unless he knows the baby is his and applies for access then the father may never be in the picture.

 

[Skigh]

I have absolutely no sympathy for her . She knew full well what she was doing was illegal . It would be interesting to know if she was aware she was pregnant when she made the decision to smuggle drugs.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Is it even known who the father is? She doesn't have to put him on the birth certificate, so unless he knows the baby is his and applies for access then the father may never be in the picture.

Just to point out that if the baby is born in Georgia its birth will be registered in Georgia and it will have a Georgian birth certificate. Georgian law will determine what information can or must be registered in connection with a birth in the country. It may, for example, state that details of a father cannot be registered for illegitimate births. (I don't know whether this is the case, merely giving an example of how legal requirements may differ there.)

The birth will not be re-registered if/when the child arrives in the UK and UK law will not apply in the way it does for a birth which takes place in the UK and is registered here.

 

[Lucy6226]

Just to point out that if the baby is born in Georgia its birth will be registered in Georgia and it will have a Georgian birth certificate. Georgian law will determine what information can or must be registered in connection with a birth in the country. It may, for example, state that details of a father cannot be registered for illegitimate births. (I don't know whether this is the case, merely giving an example of how legal requirements may differ there.)

The birth will not be re-registered if/when the child arrives in the UK and UK law will not apply in the way it does for a birth which takes place in the UK and is registered here.

Baby would be entitled to dual nationality/passport though imo

 

[Hexe]

Baby would be entitled to dual nationality/passport though imo

No. Solely being born in Georgia does not entitle to Georgian citizenship.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Baby would be entitled to dual nationality/passport though imo

No, it wouldn't. Georgian citizenship is based on jus sanguinis, ie the law of blood.

1. Acquiring Georgian citizenship by birth

• a person, at whose birth one of his/her parents is a Georgian citizen;
• a person born on the territory of Georgia through extracorporeal fertilization (surrogacy), if the country of citizenship of neither of his/her parents recognises this person as its citizen;
• a child born in the territory of Georgia to persons having a status of stateless person in Georgia;
• a person born on the territory of Georgia, one of whose parents has a status of a stateless person in Georgia and the other parent is unknown.

<p>Georgian citizens are equal before the law regardless of race, color of skin, language, sex, religion, political or other opinions, national, ethnic, and social affiliation, origin, property or social status, place of residence, or any other chara

<p>Georgian citizens are equal before the law regardless of race, color of skin, language, sex, religion, political or other opinions, national, ethnic, and social affiliation, origin, property or social status, place of residence, or any other characteristics. Georgian citizens shall be...

stateless.ge

The baby will however automatically receive British citizenship by being born to a British parent outside the UK.

Apply for citizenship if you have a British parent

Apply for British citizenship if you have a British parent - who's eligible, fees and how to apply

www.gov.uk

 

[Inthedetails]

We must not forget that the baby has a FATHER, right?

And, legally, fathers have both
Rights & Obligations.

JMO

Many concerns are happening at the same time.

* The father of the unborn baby hasn't stepped forward to help, as far as we know.
* The criminal was convicted and needs to face consequences in the country where she was convicted.
* The baby born in captivity will be safe, medically provided for, and remain with mother.
* The grandparents would prefer the newborn not be born and kept behind bars and, I would assume, want more than anything to raise money for release.

We don't have to pick one thing to consider. The situation is complicated - and the mess was created by the criminal herself. (I do think she was lured into the crime, but she made the decision to participate and seems super immature and self-centered, imo. But the decision was hers.)


jmopinion

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Many concerns are happening at the same time.

* The father of the unborn baby hasn't stepped forward to help, as far as we know.

I don't think it has ever been stated who he is, although The Star mentions a "Ross" or "Russ" whom she may have met in the Philippines.

Who is the dad of Bella Culley's baby as Brit 'drugs mule' drops backpacker hint

Bella May Culley has alleged she was 'coerced' by smugglers into carrying the drugs, and has even claimed she doesn't know which country she's in after being arrested

www.dailystar.co.uk

 

[Bigditch]

Can anyone simply buy their way out of jail/prison in Georgia? Is that how the system works?