Local residents locate pickaxe used in 'brutal' attack on three people in Malaga province hamlet
Guardia Civil officers arrested the alleged perpetrator of this triple attempted murder a few hours after the incident. The suspect is a 21-year-old man originally from north Africa
More than fifty people participated in a search for the weapon allegedly used in the "brutal" attack on a family on 2 July in a rural house located in Espino, a small hamlet belonging to Alcaucín in the Axarquía area of Malaga province, very close to the border with Boquete de Zafarraya, in Granada province.
The Guardia Civil arrested the alleged perpetrator of this triple attempted murder a few hours after the incident happened on 2 July. The suspect is a 21-year-old man originally from north Africa, who had allegedly hidden in an area near the farm.
The man is being held in custody without bail for the alleged crimes of attempted murder and burglary, following an appearance in court in Vélez-Málaga
However, officers had not managed to find the pickaxe allegedly used by the suspect, which is why they asked for the collaboration of family members, friends and neighbours. In a search that began at 8am in Espino, the group split up to explore the family estate, which is fenced and has several entrances.
In the highest area, one of the participants found the large yellow pickaxe with which this young man allegedly "brutally" assaulted the couple, José Carlos, 56, and Ana, 57 and their daughter, Ana, 30. It was the daughter who managed to take refuge in the house, from where she called the emergency services.
José Carlos remains in the intensive care unit of the Regional Hospital of Malaga, in critical condition, in an induced coma, according to what one of his brothers, Antonio, who participated in the search, told SUR on Saturday.
"The doctors don't want to give us too much hope, he's in a very bad way, he doesn't respond to stimuli," Antonio said. His wife Ana has responded well to treatment and could be discharged in the next few days after undergoing emergency surgery.
The pickaxe found, which the young man had allegedly taken from the orchard, has been taken for analysis. According to SUR sources, it still had traces of blood on it. Other personal belongings and items of clothing that could belong to the suspect have also been found on the farm. They will also be analysed by Guardia Civil officers as part of the investigation.
The event has shocked the residents of Alcaucín, which has a population of just 2,700 and half a dozen scattered rural hamlets. Espino is the smallest, with just twenty properties The mayor of Alcaucín, Ágata González, has visited the family and offered "all" her "support".
"We all know each other here and we are almost family, we could never imagine such a brutal thing happening in a place as quiet as this, but in recent years many people have come from outside, especially from the area of Zafarraya, in Granada," said one of the local residents.
