Partner of top Catalan architect arrested in Madrid nine months after his death in Baqueira

The regional police have linked the woman to Juanpere's death as part of a confidential investigation.

The case remains under a secrecy order and, as yet, the court has not disclosed the specific evidence or the circumstances of his death. It is therefore unclear whether the evidence of criminal activity that led to the arrest of the 65-year-old woman relates to a failure to render assistance or to more serious criminal offences.

Juanpere died on 26 December at his second home, while spending the Christmas holidays with his partner. The post-mortem initially concluded that the cause of death was a heart attack and that the body showed no signs of violence.

However, inconsistencies in the behaviour of the deceased's partner led the courts to open an investigation. Nine months later, the investigation has culminated in Wednesday's arrest.

Josep Juanpere was a renowned architect, founder of GCA Arquitectes, and had excellent connections with the Catalan upper classes. He designed the two headquarters of Quatrecasas Abogados in Madrid and Barcelona, as well as the Corporación Puig headquarters in Hospitalet del Llobregat, among other iconic corporate buildings.

On 24 December, the late architect visited A&E at Viella hospital, but was discharged early on Christmas Day.

After being unable to get a hold of his uncle, on 26 December Juanpere's nephew went to the flat and found him dead. The architect's partner was also there. She was in a state of great distress and had not called the emergency services.

The coroner in charge of the case carried out a thorough post-mortem examination, given the strange circumstances surrounding his death and the fact that he had visited the hospital's A&E department 36 hours earlier.

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