In Figueres, in Alt Empordà, a judge has ordered provisional detention without bail for a man accused of killing his ex-partner on Tuesday in Plaça de Tarradellas. The magistrate has charged him with intentional homicide and breaching a restraining order, according to the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC).
The case began with the man’s arrest last Sunday for alleged abuse against the victim. The following day, he accepted a six-month suspended prison sentence and a restraining order during a fast-track plea bargain at the court specialising in gender violence.
According to the judicial order from that first arrest, police reports said there was no perceived risk of serious physical aggression to the victim. Hours after the plea bargain, local police arrested the man again after a fight outside the victim’s home, in which his ex-partner was also involved.
The TSJC said that during this second intervention, police could not complete the risk assessment questionnaire, and the victim did not file a complaint. She had been summoned for Tuesday morning so a forensic doctor could assess her injuries and she could testify in court, but she did not attend. The court tried to contact her by telephone, but the call went unanswered.
The accused appeared before the judge and exercised his right not to testify to the judge and prosecutor. At that point, the TSJC said, the court had no medical report or injury assessment, and neither party requested additional precautionary measures. The duty judge then ordered the man’s provisional release and transferred the case to the specialised gender violence court, which had handled the previous day’s conviction.
Just hours later, the man fatally stabbed his ex-partner in the street. The Mossos d’Esquadra arrested him at the scene. The sequence of events has reopened debate about victim protection and about judicial and police risk assessment when restraining orders are breached. More Catalonia news
