Shock in Nerja following the death of a 23-year-old Guardia Civil officer from leukaemia

The officer died last Wednesday in Madrid after being diagnosed with leukaemia approximately one month ago, according to sources close to the family consulted by SUR.

The illness was detected following several visits to hospital after she had been feeling unwell. Since then, the young woman spent around a month in intensive care, until she finally passed away last Wednesday in the Spanish capital.

The speed with which events unfolded has heightened the impact of the news among those who had shared both her personal and professional journey with her.

Marta was currently posted in Mora, in the province of Toledo, having spent part of her work placement last year at the Guardia Civil headquarters in Nerja. She had only recently joined the force: in July 2025, the Official State Gazette published her promotion to the rank of Guardia Civil.

Her connection with Nerja went, however, far beyond that work placement. Her mother’s family are from the town, and her father – also a member of the Guardia Civil and currently a captain stationed in Manzanares – arrived in Nerja in 1999.

There he met the woman who would later become his wife, with whom he had two daughters. Marta’s younger sister, Laura, aged 21, is also following in her footsteps and is currently undertaking her probationary period as an officer at the Nerja station.

Colleagues who worked alongside Marta in Nerja remember her as “a wonderful person and professional, much loved”. “She loved Nerja; she used to come to see us every month. It’s a great loss,” members of the force told SUR after learning of the young officer’s death.

The coffin arrived on Thursday at the funeral parlour situated in Nerja cemetery, where family members, friends and colleagues began to say their final goodbyes. She was due to be buried on Friday in her home town, which has now become a gathering place for those wishing to offer their support to the family.

Messages of condolence have also poured in on social media. The page ‘062 Es por ti’, dedicated to content relating to the Guardia Civil and which Marta followed, has published a lengthy tribute in her memory. The group highlights “her kindness, her warmth and that smile that left such a lasting impression” and extends its condolences to her parents, her sister Laura, and the rest of her family, friends and colleagues.

Particularly moving, too, was the tribute from the brotherhood of Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo and María Santísima de los Desamparados in Nerja, with which Marta had maintained a close relationship for many years.

The young woman had been a bearer of the Virgen de los Desamparados, served on the governing committee and played an active part in the group’s processions and other events.

The connection also had a very personal aspect. Marta even gave Jesús Cautivo and the Virgen de los Desamparados her medal of the Virgen del Pilar, patron saint of the Guardia Civil – a memento that will remain linked to the leaders of the parish group. “Marta was pure joy,” said representatives of the organisation, recalling how she would return to Nerja from various destinations to take part in its activities.

The young woman’s death has thus sparked a wave of messages of sympathy in a town where, despite pursuing her career outside Malaga, she had maintained her family, religious and personal ties intact. Colleagues, friends and community groups are all remembering her at this time for her warmth and her dedication to service, while Nerja prepares to bid farewell this Friday to a Guardia Civil officer whose professional life had only just begun. May she rest in peace.