Sixty-year-old woman violently assaulted by hooded men in rural area near Antequera

Four hooded men assaulted a 60-year-old woman in a rural area near Antequera in the north of Malaga province on Sunday, 11 May. The attackers, who had their faces hidden behind hoods or scarves, used violence and threatened to kill her with a 'catana' (large knife or sword) if she did not give them the money.

The incident happened at around 10pm, in the Jeva district, also known as the Higuera neighbourhood. The approximately 500 inhabitants there live in somewhat isolated houses, spread across the Antequera countryside, near Villanueva de la Concepción.

The victim, who lives in the town of Torcal, owns a rural house in the area and had gone there to check it and feed the animals. As she was about to leave, she was surprised by four hooded men, who had been waiting in the undergrowth. The grass was higher than usual due to the recent heavy rains.

The alleged thieves surrounded her and threw her to the ground. They demanded that she hand over the money and the valuables from inside the house. The woman did not see whether they were armed, but she did hear death threats, which included indications that they were carrying knives and a gun. They left scratches over her body.

The woman told them that she did not live there and that the house was a rural residence where she kept nothing valuable. She told them that she lived in another farmhouse, located some 200 metres down the dirt road.

The hooded men pushed her across the field to avoid anyone seeing them. When they reached the house, three of them stayed outside while the fourth individual went to the door with her. The woman did not actually live there and the house belonged to relatives. She knew that there were several people inside the house at that moment, including her brother.

As soon as she crossed the threshold, she started screaming. Luckily, her brother was very close to the entrance and he immediately jumped to slam the door closed right under the thief's nose.

The perpetrators decided to flee when their plans were thwarted. The only things the woman had lost were her mobile phone and a pair of prescription glasses, which she had probably dropped in the struggle.

Residents of the hamlet immediately called the National Police and the Local Police. It took thirty minutes for the two patrols sent from each police station to arrive due to the state of the roads. Local councillor Juan López acknowledged that such delays for emergency services to arrive concern residents.