A 64-year-old British woman has been murdered during the early hours of Sunday morning in Orihuela Costa, in a case that has its origin in sexist violence. The alleged perpetrator, her husband, has been hospitalised for injuries, which are thought to have occurred prior to his arrest.
The events unfolded at 03:50 on Sunday morning, 26 March, when a neighbour called the Civil Guard. On attending the incident at the home of the British couple, thought to be in La Florida, in Orihuela Costa, the officers found the lifeless body of the woman, who appeared to have died from stab wounds.
On arriving at the scene, they arrested a 69-year-old man who was trying to flee the home. He is now in hospital for what appears to be a stab wound to the abdomen.
The man has previously appeared in the Viogen database, a government system for the monitoring of cases of gender-based violence, for an assault that took place in 2019. It was opened by the Civil Guard but then became inactive the following year due to the failure of the victim to lodge a formal complaint.
The delegate of the Government in the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé, explained that, at that time, no judicial measures were launched, so the case became inactive in 2020.
It is understood that the couple have resided in Spain since 2017.
The Civil Guard is currently gathering information about this murder, which points to it being a case of sexist violence, according to Bernabé. If confirmed, the number of women murdered in similar circumstances would rise to 11 in 2023 and 1,195 since 2003.
