Shoemaker dies by suicide in L'Hospitalet ahead of commercial shop eviction
Police in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat have opened an inquiry after a 60-year-old shoemaker was found dead inside his workshop days before a scheduled 5 October eviction deadline.
Discovery at the shoe repair shop
At 12:50 on Wednesday, 30 September, Catalan emergency services received a call after a 60-year-old shoemaker named Javier was found dead inside his workshop on Carrer de Martí i Blasi in the La Florida neighbourhood of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. A friend had attempted to contact Javier on Tuesday afternoon without success and noticed that the commercial metal shutter remained half-raised with no signs of movement inside. The friend returned to the premises at midday on Wednesday, found the conditions unchanged, and stepped inside before alerting the 112 emergency line. Officers from the Mossos d'Esquadra arrived at the location and determined that the body showed no signs of criminal violence.
Eviction deadline and written note
During the on-site inspection, investigators recovered a handwritten note in which Javier stated that he took his life because of an eviction order he had no capacity to halt. The owner of the property had decided not to renew the commercial lease agreement, setting a strict deadline of 5 October for him to vacate the premises. Although municipal records confirmed Javier was registered in the Bellvitge district and rented a residential studio elsewhere in L'Hospitalet, he increasingly spent his nights at the workshop. Friends and investigators noted that he was using the shoe repair shop simultaneously as his primary workspace and as an informal residence.
- Housing groups publicly report the suicide of evicted resident Olga in Santa Eulàlia.
- Friend last contacts Javier and notices the workshop shutter half-raised.
- Emergency services receive an alert after Javier is found deceased inside his shop.
- Scheduled memorial demonstration in L'Hospitalet with a column marching from Barcelona.
- Landlord-imposed deadline for Javier to vacate the rented commercial premises.
Police inquiries and personal background
The investigative unit of the Mossos d'Esquadra opened a formal inquiry to examine all circumstances surrounding the death, including whether Javier had any documented history of mental health difficulties. The L'Hospitalet City Council confirmed that municipal authorities have also initiated an internal review to determine the administrative history of the commercial premises. Close acquaintances reported that Javier lived on his own, had two children, and had operated the workshop for years as his sole source of income. Those close to him noted that he had shown growing anxiety in the final days of September over his inability to stop the eviction.
Housing emergency and scheduled mobilizations
The incident intensified scrutiny on housing and commercial displacement across L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Catalonia's second-largest municipality. The Sindicato de Vivienda Socialista de Cataluña linked the shoemaker's death directly to property speculation and evictions, issuing a statement to describe the reaction among local tenant networks.
It is the drop that made the glass overflow.
The case occurred ten days after housing collectives and neighbourhood associations in L'Hospitalet publicly reported the death of Olga, a 55-year-old resident of the Santa Eulàlia neighbourhood who took her life months after being evicted from her home. Reports from housing groups noted that Olga had warned authorities she would take her life the night before her court-ordered eviction took place. Tenant organizations issued calls for widespread mobilizations, confirming a demonstration for Saturday in tribute to Olga, accompanied by a marching column traveling from Barcelona into L'Hospitalet.
