Police investigating brutal murder of Nerja museum director

POLICE are investigating the brutal murder of the director of the Nerja Caves Museum Ana Maria Marquez at her home in Torrox.

Her partner, barman Francisco Miguel Martinez – who allegedly has a history of domestic abuse – has been detained without bail.

Marquez, 37, suffered around 70 stab wounds to the chest, abdomen, hands and neck and blunt traumas, believed to have been caused by a bottle.

Martinez has claimed self-defence.

Police were alerted when neighbours in the Senorio del Mar urbanization called 112.

Marquez was found alive in the bathtub, but died at the scene. A 30cm kitchen knife – believed to be the murder weapon – was recovered from the house.

Around 400 people gathered in Nerja’s Plaza de Espana, home to the museum, to honour Marquez’s memory.

One of her colleagues, Antonio Montesinos, condemned the murder as ‘vile and inhuman’ and urged Spain to take a stand against gender violence.

The Junta’s Minister for Justice and the Interior, Emilio de Llera, has since announced that the department is working on a plan to aid early detection of domestic violence.