A 30-YEAR-OLD Irish tourist who was arrested in Salou on Sunday over the killing of his girlfriend is said to have links to the Kinahan crime gang.
He was scheduled to appear in court today over the homicide.
As previously reported by the Olive Press, Kirsty Ward, 36, had apparently been strangled by her unnamed partner at the resort’s Magnolia Hotel on Sunday.
A hotel worker made the gruesome discovery at around 9.30pm on Sunday and officers from the Mossos d’Esquadra were called in.
A Mossos spokesperson said: “Officers arrived to find a woman lying on a corridor floor and a man next to her with a self-inflicted wound.”
A ligature used in the strangling was found at the scene.
Mother-of-two Kirsty Ward from Dublin had recently entered into a relationship with her assailant but her two children were staying at home in Ireland with family members.
One unconfirmed report suggested that Kirsty was trying to run away from the man who was placed under armed guard at Tarragona’s Joan XXIII Hospital.
Somebody from the hotel was reported as saying that the couple had been arguing earlier that evening.
The Irish Independent reports that the suspect had been arrested previously with Kinahan cartel hitman Caolan Smyth in a case that was heard before a court.
Smyth is currently behind bars for 20 years for the attempted murder of James ‘Mago’ Hately- a member of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch’s criminal gang.
The arrested man in Salou was said to be uncooperative with police even to the extent of providing family contact details about Kirsty Ward.
A garda liason officer has travelled to Salou to provide assistance including making arrangements to send Kirsty’s body back to Ireland.
READ MORE:
- Kinahan Cartel member refused to pay huge tab in Mallorca one day before his arrest
- Kinahan gang member wishes to return to Spain when released from Dublin prison
- Twelve-year Operation Shovel fizzles out with ‘Dapper Don’ Christy Kinahan Sr facing just four years in jail over passport…
