Man arrested in Spain after Irish woman found dead in holiday resort

Police have confirmed they held the 30-year-old man on Sunday night after rushing to a hotel in the Costa Dorada resort of Salou, 70 miles south of Barcelona, and finding the woman in a corridor. File photo: AP/Manu Mielniezuk

An Irish tourist has been arrested on suspicion of murder after an Irish woman was found dead at a hotel in a Spanish holiday resort.

Police have confirmed they held the 30-year-old man on Sunday night after rushing to a hotel in the Costa Dorada resort of Salou, 70 miles south of Barcelona, and finding the woman in a corridor. The man, discovered beside her with a “self-inflicted” wound, was taken to hospital where he remained under police guard on Monday.

Sources close to the investigation have confirmed the arrested tourist is Irish, as is the 36-year-old woman. The same sources indicated the pair were understood to be partners and were sharing the same hotel room.

Staff at the adult-only, four-star Magnolia Hotel in Salou where the incident occurred said they were unable to make any comment. The alarm was raised around 9.30pm on Sunday. Salou is part of the Catalan province of Tarragona.

A spokesman for the regional Mossos d’Esquadra police force said: “Officers from the Mossos d'Esquadra’s Criminal Investigation Division in Tarragona have arrested a man allegedly related to the violent death of a woman in Salou last night.

“The events occurred around half past nine when the Mossos received a warning from a hotel in Salou saying a woman was seriously injured. When they arrived at the scene, the officers found a woman lying on the floor and a man next to her with a self-inflicted wound.

“Although emergency medical responders tried to revive the woman, they were finally only able to certify her death. Officers arrested the man as the alleged perpetrator of the death.” 

In an update this morning, the police force said the arrested man is 30 years old. The man was under police guard at Joan XXIII Hospital in the city of Tarragona, the capital of the province of the same name but has since been transferred to a police station.

He is understood to have caused a wrist wound by punching or hitting a pane of glass. Well-placed sources said his injuries were not “life-threatening”. Court officials confirmed a court specialising in violence against women would be tasked with the criminal investigation.

Secrecy order

They also said a secrecy order had been placed over the case, which does not prevent reporting of the incident and ongoing probe, but limits the amount of information civil servants, including police, can give out. It is a common procedure in the early stages of a case and has the objective of legally safeguarding the ongoing criminal probe.

A local judicial official said: “Tarragona’s Duty Court proceeded last night to order the removal of the body of a woman who suffered a violent death at a hotel in Salou. The case, which is under judicial secrecy, will be investigated by a court specialising in violence against women.

“The victim and alleged aggressor are not residents in Spain and therefore it is not possible at this time to state whether there had been previous episodes of violence involving the couple.”

Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin described the incident as “shocking”.

He said consular assistance was being provided to the family of the Irishwoman killed.

“Our department officials are providing consular assistance there to the family and to do everything we can to help those impacted by that terrible event in Salou in Spain.” 

A Garda spokesman said: “An Garda Síochána is aware of an alleged incident that took place in the Spanish town of Salou involving Irish citizen/s on Sunday July 2, 2023.

“As this is an investigation led by the Spanish authorities, An Garda Síochána has no further comment at this time.”

— additional reporting by PA