A British woman has been shot dead in a suspected murder-suicide in Spain’s richest municipality.
The 59-year-old’s body was found next to that of her partner’s in the garden of their home on a gated estate in upmarket Pozuelo de Alarcon, west of Madrid.
Police are working on the theory the expat was shot dead by her partner, a 66-year-old Spaniard described as a former pilot, before he turned the gun on himself.
The alarm was raised by a security guard at the residential estate where the double shooting happened around 2.30pm on Sunday.
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The couple found dead were alone in the property, in an area called Urbanizacion Somosaguas.
It is near to the gated estate known as La Finca, where several footballers, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, own homes.
Spain’s Equality Minister Irene Montero has confirmed police are investigating the incident as a domestic violence case.
She wrote on Twitter : “All my affection and support for the family at these difficult moments.”
Hana Jalloul, spokeswoman for the left-wing PSOE party in Madrid’s regional Parliament, wrote on social media: “ENOUGH. We are not going to stop until we eradicate gender violence.”
A government office set up to combat gender-based violence added: “We are compiling information on the murder of a woman in the province of Madrid in a suspected case of gender violence.
“If the suspicions are confirmed, the number of women murdered in gender violence killings in Spain would reach 17 in 2021 and 1095 since 2003.”
Pozuelo de Alarcon ranks as the wealthiest municipality in Spain.
La Finca, a favourite with current and retired footballers as well as singers and businessmen, is within its municipal boundaries.