Raquel, the woman found dead in her home in the Madrid town of Villalbilla, had been dead for several days and surrounded by pills when the police entered the house, according to sources of the investigation. They also point out that the husband, who has been sent to prison, reported to the Civil Guard that his wife disappeared after spending a few days at her mother’s house in Yuncos (Toledo), and when he saw the police deployment near his house, he tried to flee.
The woman was found in a soundproofed room, a space of “small dimensions, a kind of altar,” according to sources to laSexta. They also add that it is “a kind of installation to perform some ritual or offering,” and it was in “that small space where the body was found surrounded by remains of blister packs of medicines that it seems she could have consumed.” However, they clarify that, “in the absence of the results of the toxicology report, the cause of death could be in that ingestion,” since there are no traces of violence.
As for the altar, this newspaper has confirmed that the couple were volunteers for Hare Krishna. Despite being Spanish nationals, they were supporters of this Hindu congregation, but had not been there since December. In fact, in the village they were called “those who pray.”
A false story about the disappearance
Regarding the story of the disappearance, investigators, upon finding the lifeless body of Raquel BL, aged 54, determined that it was false and that it led to her arrest and subsequent placement at the disposal of the court. In his complaint, the suspect said that his wife left the marital home, located on Avenida del Romero in Villalbilla (Madrid), at around 09:30 on 31 August carrying only a small backpack.
He went to Yuncos, where his mother lives, for the town’s festivities, and did so in his car, a dark blue Toyota, sources close to the investigation have informed EFE. At around 11:30 that same day, the complainant said, the woman contacted him by telephone to tell him that she had already arrived in the Toledo town and that she had left her mobile phone charger behind.
He urged her to turn off the device to try to conserve the battery, he said, but when he filed the complaint on September 3, he said that he had not heard from his wife since that call three days earlier despite trying to contact her on several occasions and through various means. His last connection to WhatsApp, he said, was on September 1 at 11:00 a.m., one day after her call.
The man claims he tried to commit suicide before
In his complaint, the man also stated that his wife had attempted suicide last May by taking about 60 antidepressant pills, for which he was admitted to the Alcalá de Henares Hospital for a week. He also alerted the officers about another suicide attempt he had made approximately three years ago, according to the aforementioned sources.
After receiving the complaint, the Civil Guard investigators opened an investigation and requested a court order to search the matrimonial home. They obtained it last Sunday and found the lifeless body of the missing woman inside the house, with signs of having been in that state for several days.
According to the preliminary autopsy report, the body does not show signs of external violence, but the officers are waiting for the toxicology report to determine the nature of the death. The Government delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martín, has pointed out that one of the main hypotheses is that the woman died from taking medication. There were no previous complaints of gender violence and neither the deceased nor the arrested man were registered in the VioGén system. They did not have children in common, according to the first data.
He is remanded in custody without bail
A court in Alcalá de Henares has ordered the detainee to be placed in provisional custody without bail. The judge of the 6th Court of Instruction in the Madrid municipality, who was on duty on Wednesday afternoon, accuses him of a crime of homicide or inducement to suicide, among others, the High Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) has reported.
However, the criminal classification is initial and could change as the judicial investigation progresses and will be derived from the proceedings carried out in the instruction of the case. In his statement before the judge, the accused has denied being the author of the death of his wife but the magistrate has considered that there are sufficient indications of a crime to order his admission to provisional prison without bail. It is expected that the magistrate will withdraw from the Court of Violence against Women number 1 of Alcalá de Henares, whose holder initially brought the investigations.
Ways to report
The Ministry of Equality has reported that the Government Delegation against Gender Violence is gathering data to determine whether it is a sexist murder. It would be the fourth victim in Madrid in 2024. Equality is also investigating as a sexist crime the murder this morning of a 31-year-old woman in Bilbao, who was found dead inside her home with multiple stab wounds. Her partner, a 34-year-old man, has been arrested. If the sexist nature of both events is confirmed, the number of women murdered at the hands of their partners or ex-partners so far this year would rise to 36 and 1,280 since 2003, when the records began.
016 is available to all victims of gender-based violence 24 hours a day and in 53 different languages, as is the email address 016-online@igualdad.gob.es; assistance is also provided via WhatsApp at the number 600000016, and minors can call the ANAR Foundation at 900 20 20 10. In an emergency situation, you can call 112 or the National Police (091) and Civil Guard (062) numbers, and if you are unable to call, you can use the ALERTCOPS app, which sends an alert signal to the Police with geolocation.
