Simon Hunter
POLICE in Madrid have arrested a 26-year-old man after he allegedly stabbed to death both his 25-year-old ex-wife and their five-year-old daughter. The shocking crime took place in the Carabanchel district in the early hours of Monday morning.
The suspect has been named in Spanish media as Jhoel Anthony S. A. and is of Peruvian origin, as are his two alleged victims. His ex-wife has been identified as Tatiana Beatriz A. T.
The man is reported to have made death threats against his victims previously, and sources from the Spanish Interior Ministry told newspaper El Pais that his ex-wife had been granted protection measures against him by the Madrid Municipal Police.
She was also registered on the VioGen domestic violence system, which monitors citizens who are under threat of gender violence.
The case, however, was ‘inactive’ and the measures had been withdrawn more than three years ago after the suspect was absolved by the courts of domestic abuse.
The alarm was raised in the apartment block where Tatiana and her daughter lived after midnight. A resident had arrived in the underground garage and parked his motor scooter, only for it to later fall to the ground causing its alarm to sound.
When the same neighbour returned to the garage to shut off the alarm, he discovered the victim lying wounded outside the elevator.
The victim had suffered multiple stab wounds and was bleeding and unconscious. Ambulance crews were unable to save her life.
The woman’s daughter was found dead in the apartment bedroom, having had her throat cut.
The alleged killer was also discovered to have a knife wound to his throat, having apparently tried to take his own life.
He was placed under arrest and taken to the 12 de Octubre Hospital for medical treatment.
On Saturday, a 37-year-old woman was taken to Madrid’s Gregorio Marañon Hospital in a serious condition after she was strangled by her partner in the Puente de Vallecas district. She died from her injuries on Monday.
Both of these domestic violence incidents came after demonstrations were held across Spain on Saturday to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
According to the latest figures from the government’s delegation against gender violence, so far this year 52 women have died in Spain at the hands of a partner or ex-partner, which is two more than the whole of 2022. Since records began in 2003, there have been 1,237 such victims in the country, leaving 400 minors orphaned.
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