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Woman found strangled to death on corridor floor at hotel in Spain Crime

Woman found strangled to death on corridor floor at hotel in Spain

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Police and emergency services rushed to the four-star hotel in Salou (Picture: SolarPix)

An Irish tourist has been arrested on suspicion of murder after his partner was found strangled to death at a hotel in a Spanish holiday resort.

Police confirmed they held the 30-year-old man on Sunday night after rushing to a hotel in the Costa Dorada resort of Salou and finding her lying lifeless in a corridor.

Her alleged killer, discovered beside her with a ‘self-inflicted’ wrist wound, was taken to hospital where he remained under police guard today.

Sources close to the investigation have confirmed the arrested tourist is Irish like the 36-year-old woman he is suspected of strangling to death.

The same sources also indicated the pair, thought to be from Dublin although this has not been confirmed by officials, were understood to be partners and were sharing the same hotel room.

He allegedly used a cord to strangle her.

A hotel worker is said to have found the victim in one of the corridors trying to escape her suspected killer, according to a local report.

It is believed the man and woman had been staying together in the luxury hotel (Picture: SolarPix)

She is said to have been found dead in the corridor outside her hotel room (Picture: SolarPix)

Staff at the four-star Magnolia Hotel in Salou where the horror incident occurred said they were unable to make any comment.

The alarm was raised around 9.30pm last night.

A spokesman for the regional Mossos d’Esquadra police force said: ‘Officers from the Mossos d’Esquadra’s Criminal Investigation Decision in Tarragona have arrested a man allegedly related to the violent death of a woman in Salou last night.

‘The events occurred around half past nine when the Mossos received a warning from a hotel in Salou saying a woman was seriously injured.

‘When they arrived at the scene, the officers found a woman lying on the floor and a man next to her with a self-inflicted wound.

‘Although emergency medical responders tried to revive the woman, they were finally only able to certify her death.

‘Officers arrested the man as the alleged perpetrator of the death.’

The suspect is under police guard at Joan XXIII Hospital in the city of Tarragona, the capital of the province of the same name.

He is understood to have caused his wrist wound by punching or hitting a pane of glass. Well-placed sources said his injuries were not ‘life-threatening.’

Police have not officially said yet whether they are treating the incident as a ‘domestic violence killing.’

However a spokesman for the Department of Equality and Feminisms of the Catalan regional government called the Generalitat has already condemned the crime and is referring to it as a femicide.

Police have launched an investigation after the incident at the Costa Dorada resort of Salou 70 miles south of Barcelona (Picture: SolarPix)

The department said in a tweet: ‘We are keeping tabs on the femicide in Salou.

‘We are working with the town hall and making our services available to the family and close friends of the victim who need maximum privacy at these difficult moments.’

Tania Verge, the Generalitat’s head of Equality and Feminisms, added: ‘Devastated by a new femicide. All our support to the victim’s family.

‘‘Machismo doesn’t have holidays. On the contrary when couples spend more time together the risk of suffering violence increases.’

Court officials later confirmed a court specialising in violence against women would be tasked with the criminal investigation.

They also said a secrecy order had been placed over the case, which does not prevent reporting of the incident and ongoing probe, but limits the amount of information civil servants including police can give out to media.

It is a common procedure in the early stages of a case and has the objective of legally safeguarding the ongoing criminal probe.

A local judicial official said: ‘Tarragona’s Duty Court proceeded last night to order the removal of the body of a woman who suffered a violent death at a hotel in Salou.

‘The case, which is under judicial secrecy, will be investigated by a court specialising in violence against women.

‘The victim and alleged aggressor are not residents in Spain and therefore it is not possible at this time to state whether there had been previous episodes of violence involving the couple.’

Salou Town Hall will hold a minute’s silence for the Irish woman killed last night at the four-star Magnolia Hotel.

It has already put up a banner with a black ribbon on its HQ.

The town hall said in a tweet: ‘Salou Town Hall condemns last night’s gender violence incident.

‘We urge society to participate in an act of rebuke this evening at 7pm in front of the town hall.’

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Why deadly police shootings are on the rise on France’s roads Crime

Why deadly police shootings are on the rise on France’s roads

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The death of 17-year-old Nahel, shot by a police officer on Tuesday in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, is not the first of its kind. Fatal shootings by police officers during traffic stops are on the rise in France. While police say it’s due to a spike in public non-compliance and dangerous behaviour, experts say this is not the only explanation.

Man caught inhaling balloons while driving had 48,000 nos cannisters Crime

Man caught inhaling balloons while driving had 48,000 nos cannisters

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Keaton Ormerod-Beck, 25, has been jailed for over five years for multiple drug offences (Picture: Cavendish Press/Cheshire Police)

A huge stockpile of nitrous oxide was uncovered by police after they stopped a man who was taking the drug while driving his car.

Keaton Ormerod-Beck was pulled over by unmarked officers in Cheshire after they spotted him inhaling laughing gas from a blue balloon behind the wheel of his Ford Focus at 10am.

After clocking the 25-year-old’s antics on the A41 in Ellesmere Port, cops stopped and searched the car on March 27 this year.

They came across several used nos cannisters littered around the vehicle and up to £6,000 worth of cannabis resin.

Later that day, police raided a nearby lock-up belonging to Ormerod-Beck and an address he had links to in Little Sutton.

A shocking 48,0000 cannisters of the popular party drug dubbed ‘hippy crack’ were found alongside around £3,785 in cash. 

Two kilos of cocaine and drug paraphernalia was also recovered – and the combined estimated value of the illegal stash was around £61.400.

Ormerod-Beck was illegally stashing 48,000 laughing gas canisters with intent to supply (Picture: Cheshire Police)

The 25-year-old also pleaded guilty to charges relating to the supply of cocaine, ketamine and cannabis (Picture: Cavendish Press)

Ormerod-Beck, of Chester Road, Ellesmere Port, who works in the event catering and IT industry and had never been in trouble with the police before, admitted to an array of charges.

The offences included being concerned in the supply of class B drugs (ketamine) and class A drugs (cocaine), possession with intent to supply class B drugs (cannabis) and class C drugs (nitrous oxide), and not being in proper control of a vehicle.

He was sentenced to five years and four months in prison at Chester Crown Court yesterday. 

The law currently makes production, supply and importation of nitrous oxide for human consumption illegal under Psychoactive Substances Act 2016.

But the Home Office is preparing to introduce a long-expected ban on the sale or possession of nitrous oxide, one of the most popular recreational drugs among young people, as part of a wider crackdown on antisocial behaviour.

Det sgt Stuart Needham, of Cheshire Police, said Ormerod-Beck was a ‘dangerous drug dealer’ (Picture: Cavendish Press)

Detective sergeant Stuart Needham said: ‘Ormerod-Beck showed no regard for the law and put other road users at serious risk.

‘Thankfully, our officers PC Swash and PC Davies stopped him in his tracks before he caused any further damage and, in the process, uncovered thousands of pounds worth of illegal drugs in his possession.

‘This case shows the importance of the police’s power to stop and search people they suspect to be breaking the law.

‘Ormerod-Beck was previously unknown to the police and tried to operate under the radar, but thanks to stop and search powers and the due diligence of our roads policing officers, a dangerous drug dealer is now behind bars and a significant amount of illegal drugs have been removed from our streets.’

Keaton Ormerod-Beck faces five years and four months behind bars for his crimes (Picture: Cavendish Press)

He added: ‘I welcome the sentence handed to Ormerod-Beck today and I hope it demonstrates that drug dealing in Ellesmere Port or elsewhere in Cheshire will not be tolerated.

‘While this investigation has now concluded, our fight against illegal drugs, and those who supply them, continues.

‘Intelligence supplied by members of the public is crucial to this fight and I urge anyone with any information about suspected drug related activity in their community to get in touch.

‘You will be listened to, and we will investigate the matter.’

Discarded nos cylinders are a regular sight on high streets and at festivals, with almost one in ten 16 to 24 year olds admitting to taking the drug in 2019-20.

While supplying nitrous oxide for its psychoactive effects is already illegal under 2016 legislation, the gas has legitimate uses, primarily for the production of whipped cream or for freezing food, and is widely available online.

The planned change to the law would permit the gas to be possessed for legitimate reasons primarily for the production of whipped cream, for freezing food or for being used as pain relief, for example in childbirth.

But a ban is planned for recreational use and supply, which will put nitrous oxide under the same classification as cannabis.

Doctors say the gas can also cause dizziness and impaired memory, as well as accidents from leg weakness.

It can also cause neurological problems by inactivating the vitamin B12 and medics have warned about an increase in spinal cord and nerve damage caused by the drug including paralysis.

Earlier this month, a mum who crashed her car at 103mph while high on nitrous oxide and killed her friend was jailed.

And in May, a study found that the use of laughing gas as a recreational drug is causing nerve damage in teenagers and young adults.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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