Crime
Mijas double murder victim's boyfriend reported that she and her mother were inside the burning house
The investigators have not ruled out any hypothesis except suicide, including gender-based violence
María José Díaz Alcalá
The names of the double murder victims in Mijas are María, 61, and her daughter, Patricia, 31. The two were found dead with multiple stab wounds after their house was set on fire early on Wednesday morning.
According to neighbours, it was the young woman's partner who started shouting: "Help! My mother-in-law and my girlfriend are on the floor."
It happened at around 2am, when residents of the Las Lagunas area heard the man's sobs and cries for help. According to statements, Patricia's partner could barely speak. He managed to report that the two women were on the floor of the house, from which smoke was coming.
Related story
-
112 incident
Irene Quirante and María José Díaz Alcalá
Neighbours alerted the emergency services that immediately mobilised firefighters, the Guardia Civil, the Local Police and paramedics.
After extinguishing the flames, the firefighters entered the house, where they found the bodies on the kitchen floor. Both had several stab wounds.
The security forces discovered that someone had sprayed a likely flammable liquid around the two women.
The Guardia Civil have taken charge of the investigation. They have ruled out no hypothesis except suicide.
According to sources, neither María nor Patricia were registered in the gender-based violence case monitoring system (VioGén). Despite this, gender-based violence is among the hypotheses the investigators are considering.
María and Patricia were well-known and loved in the area where the young woman grew up and where they had lived for decades. According to neighbours, María earned a living as a cleaner and, among other jobs, had also worked for the town hall.
Her husband died in a motorcycle accident a few years ago. Sources said that she had recently been in another relationship, but neighbours believe it ended some time ago.
Patricia reportedly worked with her brother in a family business. "She was very happy. She had just bought a house and was furnishing it, full of the excitement of a young person," neighbours said.
Review the latest crime and judicial news reports