Malaga police surprise Mijas double murder suspect as he returns home from shopping

Gender-based violence

During the search of his home, the Guardia Civil seized a large knife, currently under investigation on suspicion of being murder weapon

María José Díaz Alcalá

It was 1pm on Thursday when the suspect in the double murder in Mijas left his home in Malaga city's Teatinos district to go grocery shopping, his calm demeanour arousing no suspicion. The Guardia Civil, however, had been tracking him for 24 hours, ultimately arresting him upon his return from the shop.

The detainee was the partner of 61-year-old Mari, whose body emergency personnel discovered alongside her 31-year-old daughter Patricia's body after extinguishing the fire at their home. The two women had several stab wounds.

Residents of the Avenida de José Ribera in Malaga saw the suspect leaving late Tuesday afternoon. He appeared to be intoxicated, they said. He got into the car that he and Mari had recently bought. No one saw him return.

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• Crime

  • gender-based violence.

    Pending official confirmation, Mari would be the fourth victim of gender-based violence in the province of Malaga this year.

    Just last week, a 35-year-old woman was found dead inside a well on a property in Rincón de la Victoria, which was ultimately confirmed as a femicide case. The victim's name was Cristina and she had been missing since the end of May, according to her family.

    The body was found after the victim's partner confessed to the stabbing, after the police also arrested another man and a woman for their alleged involvement in covering up the crime.

    The judge ordered the two men to be held in pretrial detention without bail, while the woman was released pending further investigation and subject to precautionary measures.

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