Autopsy rules out gender violence in Almoradí death: husband released after natural causes confirmed

Initial suspicion and arrest

On Monday night, around 23:00, the 61-year-old husband called emergency services to report finding his 56-year-old wife, Mari Carmen, dead on the landing of the stairs in their home in Almoradí, Alicante. Local police and Guardia Civil officers arrived and, while not ruling out an accident, found signs that suggested a possible gender-based murder. The husband's account raised doubts: he claimed he returned home to find her body, but investigators discovered blood traces on a mop and other inconsistencies. The Guardia Civil's Judicial Police team from Almoradí arrested the man on suspicion of homicide.

Autopsy findings

The autopsy, completed on Tuesday, determined that the woman died of natural causes. The forensic examination showed that the death was not due to the injuries she sustained; rather, a natural event caused her to fall down the stairs, resulting in non-serious injuries. The Guardia Civil stated that the proceedings, the ocular inspection of the scene and the statements taken fully coincide with the autopsy result and concluded that there is no criminality in the death.

The proceedings carried out so far, the ocular inspection of the scene and the statements taken fully coincide with the result of the autopsy.

Husband released

Following the autopsy results, the 61-year-old man was released from custody on Tuesday afternoon. The Guardia Civil confirmed that all lines of investigation had been open, but the forensic evidence cleared him of any involvement in a crime. The case, initially treated as a possible gender-based murder, was reclassified as a natural death.

VioGén background

The husband had a prior entry in the VioGén system, Spain's monitoring program for gender violence victims. According to Pilar Bernabé, the central government's delegate in the Valencian Community, the man was detained in 2008 for gender violence, but the case was deactivated in 2009 due to a lack of judicial measures. This history, combined with the initial contradictions, had led investigators to assign the case to the Guardia Civil's Women-Minor Team (EMUME) and the Criminalistics Laboratory of the Alicante Command.

It was deactivated in 2009 due to lack of judicial measures.

Investigation continues

Although the husband has been freed, the Guardia Civil continues to compile the case file, which will be forwarded to the courts in Orihuela. The authorities have not found any evidence of a crime, and the death is now officially attributed to natural causes. The couple's two adult children did not live with them.