By Natalia Rueda 
The quiet Madrid neighborhood of Carabanchel has been shaken by a macabre crime that has claimed the lives of a 25-year-old woman and her 5-year-old daughter in the early hours of Monday morning. Police have arrested the victim’s ex-partner identified as Jhoel Antonio as the alleged perpetrator of the murder, which is being investigated as a case of gender violence.
Neighbors were awakened by the sound of loud screams coming from the victim’s home and quickly alerted the authorities, who arrived and found the woman in critical condition and with wounds all over her body. The woman managed to tell the authorities that her ex-partner was also assaulting her daughter.
Inside the house, police found the girl with serious neck injuries and the 26-year-old suspect with stab wounds who, after committing his crime, attempted to take his own life. The man was transported to the hospital in critical condition. Despite the efforts of emergency medical teams, both mother and daughter were pronounced dead at the scene.
History of violence
Apparently, the victim had filed a complaint against her ex-partner in 2020 and was receiving protection measures through the Integral System for the Protection of Victims of Gender Violence (VioGén). However, these measures were lifted following the acquittal of the suspect in a previous case of abuse. The suspect had a prior record for threatening the victim, but without a restraining order in place, the victim was left vulnerable to her abuser.
The tragic incident has raised questions about the adequacy of protective measures for victims of gender-based violence. The victim becomes the 53rd case of gender violence so far this year in Spain and although the case had been considered high risk by the police, the suspect was acquitted.
The fact that this crime occurred despite the victim’s attempts to seek help and protection highlights the urgent need to improve the support and implementation of protective measures for victims of gender-based violence in Spain. The government must take decisive action to prevent senseless murders like this one from happening again.
While the authorities continue to investigate the sequence of events, one thing is clear: it was yet another case of a femicide. The fact that the aggressor was able to carry out such a heinous crime despite having a history of abuse is a blatant demonstration of the systemic failures in protecting victims and holding aggressors accountable.
With information from La Vanguardia