Man kills his wife and commits suicide

A man in Galicia killed his wife and then committed suicide.

A 48-year-old man shot his 38-year-old wife dead and then hanged himself in Barro, Pontevedra. The man is alleged to have called the Guardia Civil at 8.30am saying he had shot his wife in the head and that he was going to take his own life, police sources told the media.

After arriving at the residence from which the man had reportedly made the call, the officers found the body of a woman named Monica Lorenzo Gomez with two shotgun wounds. Then they found the body of the man. The couple leave behind two young daughters.

The government of Galicia said there is no proof that the woman had ever lodged a complaint with the police for domestic violence. However, should this turn out to be a domestic violence case, the number of women killed by their partners so far this year in Spain would increase to 37.

Only 11 of the 37 victims had lodged complaints against their partners, even though two of them later dropped the charges, and three of them had restraining orders against their partners at the time of their deaths.

Galicia has condemned the killing and called upon society to put an end to the scourge of domestic violence for good.

Health, Social Services and Equality Minister Ana Mato released a communiqué condemning the killing and encouraged people to report domestic abuse cases, saying 70 per cent of abused women manage to move on with their lives.