A 63-year-old Brazilian woman has been arrested by the National Police in the south of Tenerife, accused of slashing the throat of a 56-year-old Algerian man. The tragic incident occurred near the "Coral Los Alisios" residential complex by the Official School of Languages in Los Cristianos, in the early hours of Monday (10th June).
Both the victim and the detainee were homeless residing in makeshift shelters near the centre of Los Cristianos. The man’s body was discovered at around 5:00am on Monday morning by maintenance staff and a security guard.
Initially, the presence of cuts on the victim's wrists suggested a possible suicide. However, the unnatural positioning of the body and the discovery of footprints from different types of footwear around the scene indicated the involvement of more than one person.
The Local Police were the first to arrive at the scene. Observing signs of a potential murder, they secured the area and alerted the Judicial Authorities. Shortly after, several patrol cars from the National Police and officers from the Judicial Police Brigade arrived at the scene.
Forensic investigators found that the victim was holding the knife that had been used to cut his throat, and after collecting sufficient evidence, they arrested the Brazilian woman whose clothes were stained with his blood. Her account of events, as reported by the Local Police, did not match the testimonies of various witnesses.
The detained woman, a resident of southern Tenerife for over 24 years, has numerous prior police records for minor offences. The victim, also known to the authorities, had a criminal record, having been in prison several times for serious offences. He had recently been released from jail.
Police sources revealed grim photographs from that night, showing that the two had several altercations and verbal disputes, which tragically culminated in the alleged murder.
Preliminary investigation data suggests that the accused took advantage of the man while he was asleep, intoxicated, or under the influence of drugs, attacking him when he was defenceless. It appears the woman attempted to stage the scene to resemble a suicide by cutting the victim’s wrists and placing the knife in one of his hands.
Following her arrest, the woman was taken to the holding cells at the South Tenerife Police Station. On Wednesday morning she was brought before the Investigating Court No. 1 of Arona, which ordered her provisional detention without bail.