On Monday, the Mijas Town Council, aalongside the security forces and municipal staff, observed a minute’s silence outside the Town Hall in memory of María (61) and Patricia (31), a mother and daughter from Las Lagunas who were murdered last week, allegedly by the former's ex-partner. The act also served to convey condolences and support to the victims’ families and loved ones.

Once again, the Town Hall was the setting for a gesture of mourning and rejection of this type of crime. On this occasion, the tribute focused on María and Patricia, residents of the Las Flores neighbourhood, whose deaths have shocked the entire town.

The mayoress of Mijas, Ana Mata (PP), stressed the need for all institutions to continue working to prevent similar incidents from happening again: “I hope this never happens to anyone, but it is clear that all institutions and public administrations must keep working to ensure this kind of event does not occur. And one of the areas where we should perhaps make progress is in having a register of abusers so that anyone entering a relationship knows who they are with”.

Mata also explained that the alleged killer, María’s former partner, had a criminal record for gender-based violence, although neither the victim nor her daughter knew, and neither was registered on the VioGén system.

Further reactions

Speaking on behalf of the Partido Popular, its spokesperson Mario Bravo emphasised that this act symbolises both support for the families and institutional commitment: “It is not only a show of solidarity with the families of these two Mijas women who are no longer with us; it is also a demonstration of our determination to put every measure in place to prevent this from happening again. The commitment of Mijas Town Hall, represented by almost the entire council present today, as well as the whole of Mijas society, must be made clear".

For his part, the Vox spokesperson, Juan Carlos Cuevas Dawson, called for tougher sentencing: “We at Vox Mijas have been demanding this for some time; recently, in the Congress of Deputies, we proposed the possibility of increasing sentences for murderers and rapists, and we were the only party to vote in favour of that amendment”, he recalled.

The spokesperson for Por Mi Pueblo Mijas, Juan Carlos Maldonado, spoke along similar lines, defending legislative changes and educational measures: “We must demand that legislators make our laws more robust so that these kinds of circumstances occur as little as possible or are even eradicated from our society; it is a scourge, and to achieve zero victims we must also focus on education, civic values and many other aspects".

From the PSOE, its general secretary in Mijas, Josele González, expressed the grief shared by the public. The Socialist councillor said that this crime “is something that defies explanation, and for our part, all that is left is to show our support and thank the people of Mijas because they have shown that they rise to the occasion in difficult times. Of course we have to work, and we will be there to do our bit so that these situations do not happen again”.

The alleged perpetrator of these crimes appeared before the Málaga Court for Violence against Women on Sunday, while the investigation remains open to clarify the facts.

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