A SMALL town in Malaga has been rocked by the murder of a young woman by her partner – just 24 hours on from huge nationwide protests against gender violence.
Officials in Campillos, a rural town with a population of just over 8,000, have announced three days of mourning after a 25-year-old woman known as Concha was strangled to death at her home on Wednesday.
Her 28-year-old partner, named locally as Ismael, turned himself in later that day to authorities in Martos, Jaen, where he confessed to the killing.
The couple had previously been registered on the national gender violence monitoring system, known as VioGen – although their files were reportedly inactive at the time of the murder.
Co-workers of Ismael have told police that he had told them he would not be going into work on Wednesday.
READ MORE: Gender violence surges in Spain: Number of young victims increased by 32% last year, figures show
Investigators believe the clue could be a sign of premeditation, which if proven could lead to a harsher sentence.
The murder in Campillos comes just four days after another case of gender violence in Malaga.
Last weekend, a 60-year-old woman named Maria Victoria was killed at her home in Rincon de la Victoria.
Her ex-partner has been detained by police on suspicion of murder after the woman was found dead with signs of violence.
On Tuesday, thousands took to the streets across Spain to march in support of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Protesters in Madrid, the capital, carried banners, chanted and beat drums to call for stronger measures to eliminate gender-based violence.
Ana Redondo, the minister for equality, was one of the attendees.
In a post on X, she said: “We condemn, with the conviction that Spanish democracy will put an end to gender-based violence, the sexist murders of Maria Victoria and Concha.
“With all my respect and support for their families and friends, I reaffirm our commitment to advancing towards its eradication.
In 2024, 48 women were murdered by a partner or ex-partner in Spain – almost one every week.
At least 39 women have been killed in acts of gender-based violence so far this year.
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