KNIFE wounds have been found on two victims in the recent Mijas house fire, leading police to believe the murders were a potential act of gender violence.
What began as a standard call about a potential house fire has resulted in a murder investigation in Las Lagunas de Mijas.
61-year-old Maria Santos and her daughter Patricia (31), were found among the smoke and flames in their home.
It has been confirmed that both women had multiple stab wounds, and it is suspected that whoever killed them started the fire as a way to cover up the evidence.
The alleged double murder has left the entire community horrified, and presented the remaining Santos members with another deadly misfortune.
Andalucia emergency services were contacted around 2am on Wednesday about a suspected fire on Tulipan Street.
Members of the Mijas Fire Department, 061 Medical Centre, Guardia Civil and local police all responded to the Mijas neighbourhood that was covered in smoke.
Several hours after firefighters appeared on the scene to extinguish the flames, the remains revealed an alleged murder scene.
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Now police believe that the fire was started to cover up the double murder of the mother and daughter.
Given the knife wounds found on both women, the Guardia Civil are considering these violent deaths and are investigating potential suspects.
Both bodies have already been transferred to Malaga’s Legal Medicine Institute (IML).
It is uncertain if any arrests have been made this far.
However VioGen, a Spanish police tool used to determine and predict intimate partner violence (IPV), are reviewing the case details and suspect it could be a case of gender violence.
This isn’t the first tragedy the family has experienced. Over ten years ago, Maria’s husband died on a motorcycle.
Salvador Ruiz Santos, known as ‘Santos’ by neighbours in the community, was the founder of the family business of stamped concrete.
After his death, his children took over running the business out of their household.
Residents of the Las Lagunas neighbourhood have described the family as ‘hardworking’ and ‘good people’.
Some have considered that either of the women’s romantic partners could be potential suspects in the case, believing there is involvement of ‘someone close to the victims’ circle’.
El Espanol spoke with a nearby restaurant employee who said they spotted Patricia’s boyfriend, a man she was soon meant to move in with, ‘pacing nervously and crying.’
Neighbours have also said that the boyfriend went to the house because he was concerned about Patricia not answering his calls or texts.
He was also the one who found both bodies and contacted the police.
However, others insist that the young couple were ‘just like two normal kids’ and that ‘they were very happy, and this is a terrible tragedy.’
Maria was also said to have been seeing a man who could be of interest, but others say they hadn’t seen her with her partner recently.
The community agrees that the mother and daughter deserve justice, calling their deaths ‘not normal’.
“I’m frozen, I’m frozen, I had them right next to me,” said a visibly upset neighbour from his rooftop.
Psychologists are being provided by council chiefs to the neighbourhood residents to help cope with the tragic event that unfolded this week.
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