POLICE investigating the case of a mother and daughter found stabbed to death in a house fire on the Costa del Sol have made an arrest.
Officers from the Guardia Civil detained the mother’s ex-partner on Thursday on suspicion of murder after two women were found dead in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The suspect, 61, has been arrested on suspicion of two counts of murder and two counts of violent robbery, after investigators concluded items were stolen from the property.
Police say the suspect allegedly stabbed Maria Santos, also aged 61, and her 31-year-old daughter Patricia multiple times before setting their apartment in the Las Lagunas neighbourhood in Mijas on fire in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence.
Emergency services were called to the scene at 2am on Wednesday after neighbours on Calle Tulipan reported a house fire, with firefighters later discovering a murder scene as they extinguished the flames.
A search of the suspect’s home reportedly uncovered a blood-stained knife, believed to be a possible murder weapon.
Investigators are treating the double murder as a possible case of gender-based violence, although they say all lines of inquiry remain open pending forensic results.
Neither women had previously reported domestic abuse and neither was registered on VioGen, Spain’s domestic violence monitoring system.
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