Fit of jealousy considered as the trigger that lead to two violent deaths on the Costa del Sol

Police on the Costa del Sol continue to make progress in the investigation of the violent deaths that happened in Fuengirola. Two alleged murders - those of Cristóbal (39 years old), on Saturday 13 April, and Daniel (51), last Wednesday - and one more attempted murder - the girlfriend of the arrested man - all of which could point to a fit of jealousy.

Investigators have been considering the hypothesis since they spoke to the 19-year-old girl who is currently in a Marbella hospital with a number of stab wounds. After being admitted to the intensive care unit, she is now in a stable condition.

The young woman told local residents who rushed to her aid and called an ambulance that it was her 34-year-old boyfriend who had stabbed her. The man has several previous convictions and was known to both the National Police and the Guardia Civil.

According to sources the girl identified him as the alleged perpetrator of two crimes: that of Daniel, who had sublet a room in the flat in Calle Valle Inclán, and who had also just been stabbed; and that of Cristóbal, the man beaten to death with a golf club and whose body was found on Saturday in a house in Fuengirola.

The young woman's testimony surprised her neighbours, but not the police, who were already targeting the now arrested man. The investigators were waiting for the laboratory tests to confirm their suspicions before arresting him on suspicion of the murder of Cristóbal, who was also his friend. A video is circulating on social media in which the latter hugs the suspect and even gives him a kiss on the face.

The police are now trying to get to the bottom of the motive for the crimes. Apparently, the young woman told the officers that they started arguing in the Calle Valle Inclán flat because of her boyfriend's jealousy.

According to the sources, the arrested man allegedly assaulted his girlfriend with a knife inside the house and Daniel intervened to defend her. It was then that the suspect allegedly stabbed Daniel in the neck. Despite his fatal injuries, he managed to stagger around 150 metres to try to find help, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

The detainee's girlfriend also managed to escapeand tried to call the emergency services. According to the police's reconstruction of the events, the detained individual chased her down the street and, when he caught up with her, stabbed her again. The stab wounds were mainly on her back. The young woman was taken to hospital seriously injured but conscious.

Other sources have speculated that Wednesday's double stabbing may have occurred because the victims were threatening to report the alleged perpetrator over the death of Cristóbal. However, sources close to the investigation consulted by SUR played down this hypothesis and pointed out that it was in fact his girlfriend that turned him in after he tried to kill her.

The suspect fled the scene on foot but was later spotted walking along the street by a patrol car crew. However, noticing their presence, he ran away again spending some time hiding under vehicles to try to elude the officers until a National Police unit located and arrested him behind the town's Las Lagunas health centre.