Girl, 3, ‘murdered by own dad in British holiday hotspot’
A little girl has been found dead along with her father in a Spanish resort on the Costa Blanca.
Police suspect the youngster’s father took his own life after killing the child overnight at his home in the holiday town of Torrevieja.
Their nationalities have not yet been made public.
The dad, aged 40, and his daughter were discovered at about 1am inside a home.
The mother of the girl, who is no longer in a relationship with the alleged perpetrator, reportedly alerted the police after she couldn’t contact him for hours.
Civil Guard sources have confirmed they are investigating the pair’s deaths as a case of suspected so-called vicarious violence – a form of gender-violence in which an abuser inflicts harm on a woman by targeting people or things she loves, most commonly their children.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard said: ‘The Civil Guard of Alicante confirms the discovery of two lifeless bodies around 1am today, March 21, in a residence in the centre of Torrevieja.
‘It is a 40-year-old man and his three-year-old daughter.
‘The child’s mother, a 36-year-old woman and ex-partner of the alleged perpetrator, notified the Civil Guard last night that she had been unable to contact him for several hours and feared that the father might have harmed his daughter, who was with him.
‘Immediately, the Civil Guard began an investigation locating the lifeless bodies at the home of the alleged perpetrator.
‘There were no previous reports of mistreatment between them.’
News of the deaths has sent shockwaves through the community.
Pilar Bernabe, a central government spokesman for the Valencian Community, the region which Torrevieja south of Alicante forms part of, said on X: ‘Shocked by the murder of a minor in Alicante. Unbearable terrorism. All my love to his family and friends.’
The central government delegation for the region said: ‘We are gathering data on the murder of a minor due to alleged vicarious violence in the province of Alicante.’
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.