BLOODY JULY: Domestic violence death toll in Spain

JULY was a bloody month when it came to domestic violence in Spain. Nine women and a child died at the hands of men in the 31 days, making it the worst month since January when seven died at the hands of partners or ex partners. 

Those who have died have been named as Piedad, Mónika, María Asunción, Elena, María del Carmen, Rita, Eva, Maruchi, María Josefa and little Cristian. 

So far this year at least 37 women have been killed in incidents of domestic violence, the highest figure since 2011. 

What stands out about the July figures is the victims themselves. Often murdered women have previously reported abuse, but in July most had not made any previous complaints. 

Another recurring pattern is that many of the men who murdered their partner or ex then committed suicide immediately afterwards, or tried to do so. 

The grim list of victims for July reads like this: 

July 2: Juan Rosales, aged 42, killed his wife Piedad Cruz, also 42, with a hammer in the town of Rute (Cordoba). Hours later he handed himself in to police in Madrid, where he had travelled by car with his two youngest daughters, aged 10 and six. 

July 8:  Mónika Asenovaaged 29, was stabbed by her husband, aged 39, who then threw her out of the window in Salas de los Infantes (Burgos). She wanted to separate. In fact she had moved back to her father’s home with her two daughters. 

July 13: María Asunción Pérez Ibarra, 47, was stabbed to death by her partner. She had also announced her intention to separate only a few days before she was killed. The couple had a 17-year-old son and a 21-year-old son. 

July 17: Juan Roman Medina, 57, a hunting enthusiast, took a rifle and murdered his wife, Elena Peinado Gil, 54. Then he committed suicide. It was in Cortes de la Frontera (Malaga). 

July 21: Manuel Vázquez, the ex-partner of María del Carmen Vázquez Cereijo, 47yearsold, had a restraining order, but that did not prevent him from going to her home in Vilalba (Lugo) and stabbing her brutally to death. After the murder, he hanged himself. 

July 22: Rita Jeannine Say, 57, was stabbed in the heart by her husband Danny Aloise Lawers, 61. Many in her environment knew that the woman was living in “terror.” But no one reported it. 

July 24: M. P. S. murdered his wife, Eva Abad. He is a lawyer, she was a doctor at a clinic in Terrassa and they had two children aged 12 and 15. He turned himself in at the National Police station a few metres from where he committed the murder. 

July 25: Cristian was only 11yearsold and was stabbed to death by his father in Beniel (Murcia) when he should have handed him over to his mother, from whom he had a restraining order and prior conviction for harassment and mistreatment. 

July 29: Maruchi Rodríguez, aged 52, was stabbed to death by her husband, who later killed himself by crashing the car he was driving into a tree. Her killer was Juan F.A.E., 56yearsold. It happened in Escalante, Cantabria, but both were from La Muela, a town in Zaragoza. They had two adult children and had just become grandparents. 

July 31: María Josefa Santos, murdered in Villagonzalo Pedernales, Burgos. Her husband, Rafael Velázquez, 56yearsold, shot her with a hunting weapon, for which he had a valid licence. 

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Written by

Dilip Kuner

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