Malaga gender-based violence: woman's husband jailed for 20 years for her murder
Eva María's husband admitted in court that he had stabbed her to death in May 2022, after subjecting her to years of domestic violence
Irene Quirante
Wednesday, 22 April 2026, 13:50
The provincial court of Malaga has sentenced the husband of Eva María - the 50-year-old woman who died from 12 stab wounds in Benajarafe (the Axarquía district) on 29 May 2022 - to 20 years and eight months in prison.
According to the court ruling, Eva María suffered regular physical and psychological abuse from her partner throughout their 14-year relationship, which jealousy, controlling behaviour and violent outbursts shaped.
The crime occurred at the defendant's home in Benajarafe, where the previous afternoon the man had started an argument that had escalated into a violent confrontation, with shouting, blows and damage to furniture. Cornered, the victim warned him that she would call the police, after which he repeatedly threatened to kill her and punched her repeatedly.
In the early hours of the morning, the man was still shouting and his behaviour was becoming increasingly violent. They were both in the bathroom when the man went to the kitchen and grabbed a knife with a 10-centimetre blade.
With the clear intention of ending her life, he attacked Eva María, taking advantage of her being unaware. He stabbed her 12 times, causing wounds that, the court stated, "were intended only to increase the victim's suffering, as she was unable to defend herself".
Despite her injuries, the woman was able to alert the emergency services. Upon arrival, the police found her bleeding profusely, although she was still conscious. At one point, however, she went into cardiac arrest and collapsed.
The police spent more than 20 minutes performing CPR, but their efforts were in vain. Eva María had five children, the two oldest from a previous marriage and the three youngest with her killer.
After the fatal attack, the husband tried to hang himself with a clothesline, but it broke and he only fractured both ankles. The man, "with contempt", told the police officers things like: "I'm nobody's cuckold" and "I intended to kill her."
As the court acknowledged, at the time of the events, he was suffering from a substance use disorder that slightly impaired his intellectual and volitional capacities.
Years of abuse
The court has also convicted the defendant of the ordeal he put Eva María through from practically the beginning of the relationship. "With the clear intention of undermining the psychological integrity of his partner, he subjected her to humiliating and degrading treatment due to jealousy, which triggered several violent episodes" in which "he intimidated and hit the victim", the ruling states.
His aggressive behavior was habitual, as were his derogatory remarks toward Eva María, with whom he maintained an attitude of "control, jealousy and contempt", even when she was with her siblings. The ruling also mentions "violent and exaggerated reactions to any disagreement" between the couple, which often escalated into beatings and threats.
She reported him on three separate occasions - in 2002, 2005 and 2008. The court granted her a restraining order in 2005. However, at the time of the murder, the case had been inactive in the VioGén system for years. Some of these incidents also took place in the presence of her children.
Just a few months before the murder, one of her daughters prevented him from attacking her with an axe after witnessing him threaten her and make a gesture as if to hit her on the head.
The husband did not face a jury trial, as he pleaded guilty in a pretrial hearing. In that hearing, he acknowledged the charges of the prosecution and the private plaintiff, reaching a plea agreement.
In total, he will have to serve 20 years in prison for the murder, 66 days of community service for habitual abuse and eight months in jail for the threats. He will also have to compensate Eva María's children for emotional distress.
