Government confirms that María’s death at the hands of her partner in Mijas was a gender-based crime

The victim was found dead in her home, alongside her daughter, who was also dead. Both had stab wounds and the house was on fire.

After 24 hours of intensive investigations, officers from the judicial police arrested the suspect in the city of Malaga and searched his home, where they found the alleged weapon used to commit both crimes.

According to figures confirmed by the government delegation for combating gender-based violence, the number of women murdered by their partners or ex-partners so far in 2026 in the province of Malaga stands at four; while the national total is 28. The total figure since 2003, when these official statistics began to be compiled, stands at 1,369.

Government representative in Malaga, Javier Salas, has expressed on social media his “contempt and condemnation of the murderers and those who justify and shield them”.

For their part, the minister for equality, Ana Redondo García, and the government’s special representative on gender-based violence, Carmen Martínez Perza, have likewise expressed their “strongest condemnation and absolute rejection of this latest case of femicide”, whilst offering their full support and solidarity to the victims' family and friends.

They also emphasised the need for collective and decisive action to tackle this scourge, urging that “every possible effort be made by institutions, public authorities and society as a whole to intervene in time and prevent further deaths caused by this type of violence”.