Spanish police arrest partner of architect Josep Juanpere over December death in Baqueira

Arrest in Madrid

Catalan police arrested the 65-year-old partner of architect Josep Juanpere i Miret in Madrid on Wednesday on suspicion of homicide. Juanpere died on 26 December 2025 at age 72 at his holiday home in Baqueira, an event initially recorded as a natural death from a suspected heart attack. The arrest by the Criminal Investigation Division (DIC) of the Mossos d'Esquadra follows a nine-month inquiry conducted under judicial secrecy by an investigating court in Vielha. The suspect belongs to a prominent family with substantial holdings in the real estate and hotel sectors. Following the arrest in Madrid, authorities scheduled her transfer to the judicial district in Vielha to determine her custody status.

We arrest in Madrid a woman allegedly related to the death of her partner in Baqueira in December. DIC investigation. The case is under judicial secrecy.

The final days in Baqueira

Juanpere was spending the Christmas holidays with his partner in the Ruda development at the base of the Baqueira-Beret ski resort in Naut Aran. On 24 December 2025, the architect hosted a Christmas Eve dinner with his partner, who had arrived from Madrid, and his nephew, serving seafood, caviar, and wine. During the gathering, Juanpere suffered acute stomach illness and repeated vomiting, leading his relatives to transport him to the hospital in Vielha for observation. Medical personnel discharged him early on 25 December after diagnosing a presumed case of indigestion. The couple spent part of the day resting at a hotel before attending a scheduled Christmas night dinner with a hotel executive and their partners.

Police inquiry and key witness

On the morning of 26 December, the nephew drove the couple back to the Ruda residence, but family members grew alarmed later that day after repeated calls to Juanpere went unanswered. When the nephew entered the apartment, he discovered Juanpere dead and found the partner in an agitated state without having called emergency medical services. Although an initial autopsy showed no external signs of violence, investigators subsequently confiscated the woman's passport and examined mobile phone records from the period surrounding the death. The nephew, who provided extensive testimony to detectives, was recently placed in an induced coma at a private clinic in Barcelona due to a severe respiratory ailment.

Architectural projects and legacy

Born in 1953, Juanpere earned his degree from the Barcelona School of Architecture in 1976 and co-founded GCA Architects in 1986 alongside Antonio Puig. The firm developed corporate headquarters, interior designs, and hospitality venues, including the interior concept for the Eurostars Grand Marina hotel in Barcelona. Among its prominent corporate assignments were the Puig Towers in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, executed in partnership with Pritzker Prize winner Rafael Moneo. The practice also designed the Cuatrecasas legal headquarters in Barcelona's 22@ district, an office complex completed in 2017 comprising two towers of 11 and 18 stories reaching 72 meters in height. Juanpere's funeral in Barcelona gathered prominent business figures and long-term clients.