A three-year-old girl has been killed in Torrevieja in what authorities are treating as a case of suspected violencia vicaria – violence carried out against children to harm a partner.
The child’s father, a 40-year-old man, is believed to have murdered her before taking his own life, according to sources close to the investigation. The Guardia Civil is leading the case.
The alarm was raised on Friday night, when the girl’s mother, 36, went to the Guardia Civil after being unable to reach her ex-partner for several hours. The couple shared custody of the child.
Fearing for her daughter’s safety, she warned officers that something may have happened while the girl was with him, reports local newspaper Informacion.
Officers went to the man’s home in the early hours of the morning. Inside the garage of the property, in the northern area of the town, they found both the father and the child dead. According to initial findings, both had died by hanging.
Family receiving support
The mother was treated for severe shock and an anxiety attack and was later admitted to Torrevieja University Hospital, where she remains under medical care.
Psychological support has also been activated for the family, including another minor. Local officials have been working alongside healthcare teams to provide immediate assistance.
No prior reports of domestic abuse had been filed between the couple, according to the Guardia Civil.
Investigation underway
The case is being handled by the Guardia Civil’s specialised Women and Minor Unit (EMUME) in Alicante. Early indications point to a case of alleged violencia vicaria, followed by suicide.
Spain’s Government delegate in the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabe, condemned the killing, describing violencia vicaria as ‘the most cruel and extreme form of violence.’
She went further, calling it ‘atrocious terrorism,’ stressing that it involves harming children in order to inflict maximum damage on women.
The case has once again brought attention to violencia vicaria, a term used in Spain for situations where children are harmed or killed as a way of exerting control over a partner or ex-partner.
