Man kills wife then shoots himself

26 November 2004

CALPE, ALICANTE – A Belgian man shot dead his wife then turned the gun on himself, Spanish police said.

The 60-year-old, who has not been named, had broken a court order banning him from having contact with his wife.

It is the latest murder involving domestic violence in Spain and came the day after the country marked the international day for victims of this type of abuse.

So far this year, 62 women have met their deaths at the hands of husbands or partners.

The shooting happened in the quiet former fishing village of Calpe, near Alicante in south-eastern Spain at about 12.30pm.

Calpe has a large number of foreign residents and is popular with tourists.

Police said the man shot his wife after a row.

The murdered woman, who has also not been named, was the same age as her husband and also was from Belgium.

She had earlier claimed she had been attacked by her husband and a judge had imposed a restriction order on him on 4 November which stopped him seeing her.

However, the man went back to the house they had shared to collect his belongings.

The couple had a row and he shot her and then turned the gun on himself.

Police sources said the murder and the man’s subsequent suicide may have been due to a mental illness which he was suffering.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news