Monday, 24 November 2025, 11:24
A 60-year-old woman was apparently killed at the hands of her ex-husband in Rincón de la Victoria on the eastern Costa del Sol on Saturday 22 November. María Victoria died as a result of several stab wounds, the most serious being the one to her neck, SUR has been told. The Guardia Civil found her body in the house of her ex-husband, where she had also lived before the couple separated.
According to sources close to the case, the man, who has confessed to the murder, also had injuries to his neck and investigators believe he may have tried to kill himself after killing María Victoria.
According to sources the man was suffering from depression which led him to take early retirement. Although they were no longer together, María Victoria, who lived nearby, continued to be concerned about his health, so she often went to his home to see him.
Neighbours raised the alarm at around 10.20am after hearing banging and loud screams coming from the house, located in Calle Trébol, in the Cotomar area of the town.
The Guardia Civil and the Local Police were mobilised and the Andalusian women’s institute was informed. The officers were on the point of breaking down the door after ringing the bell several times and getting no answer. Finally, the alleged perpetrator opened the door.
According to sources María Victoria was dead when the emergency services arrived and the man was arrested as the main suspect, as the body showed obvious signs of violence.
There had been no previous complaints between the couple and the woman was not registered in Spain’s national VioGen system. The man has been in custody since his arrest at the Guardia Civil in Torre de Benagalbón, from where he will be brought before the courts.
If confirmed as a crime of gender violence, María Victoria would be the fifth woman to die violently at the hands of her partner or ex-partner so far this year in Malaga province. Only in one of the cases had they previously denounced their alleged aggressor.
Confirmed sexist crimes
The last victim confirmed in Malaga province was called Eva and was 83 years old. Her husband, aged 84, allegedly stabbed her at least six times on 3 October at her home in Marbella. When the officers arrived, they could do nothing more than confirm the woman’s death.
The previous crime, the third in 2025, took place in Fuengirola and claimed the life of Zunilda, 43, who was allegedly hammered to death by her partner in a flat on 18 June. Everything suggests that the man, who was found dead in the property with stab wounds, took his own life afterwards.
Just a few days earlier, also on 7 June, the body of Pilar, aged 53, was found on wasteland in Marbella. The alleged perpetrator eventually turned himself in to the National Police, where he confessed to committing the crime.
The first recorded victim of gender-based violence that year was Catalina, also known as Lina. She was 48 years old and mother of four children. Her ex-partner killed her on 9 February at her home in Benalmádena.
Lina was the only victim to ever report her alleged abuser. She did so some 20 days before the crime because of the threats she had received after ending the relationship, in which, according to her confession, she had also been physically beaten. The court refused to grant her a restraining order because the police, or rather Viogen’s algorithm, deemed her to be a “medium risk”.
The 016 telephone number deals with cases of gender violence 24 hours a day and in 52 different languages. The call is free of charge and does not appear on the telephone bill. It can also be reported, either by the victim, family members or witnesses, by emailing 016-online@igualdad.gob.es. The service can also be contacted by WhatsApp at 600 000 016.
In an emergency situation, you can call 112 or the National Police (091), the Local Police (092) or the Civil Guard (062). If it is impossible to make a call, you can use the AlertCops application, which sends an alert signal from a mobile phone to the police with geolocation information.