Elia was beaten to death in the early morning of December 17-18, 2021, at her home in Torrevieja. The alleged perpetrator of the crime and partner of the victim surrendered himself to the local Civil Guard just a few hours after he committed the crime. He will appear in court on Monday (14 October) with the trial expected to last all week.
The Prosecutor’s Office accuses him not only of the crime, but also of the continual ill-treatment of the victim during the four years of relationship. Constant insults, beatings and continuous and obsessive control of all of her movements. The alleged killer will face a charge of a long list of criminal acts that add up to 36 in prison, 25 of them for the murder and the remainder for the ill-treatment suffered by the victim during this time.
The indictment reveals that the victim had a slow death, in which her suffering was deliberately prolonged. Although he had inflicted blows on all parts of her body it was the ones she received on the head and abdomen that ended her life. The defendant, who has been in pretrial detention since his arrest, is charged with crimes against moral integrity, injury, ill-treatment in the family and murder.
According to the indictment, the 35-year-old woman had a psychological and emotional dependence on the accused. The couple had a daughter who was three years old when the murder occurred. For her, the prosecution is claiming compensation of 250,000 euros is claimed; as well as another 116,200 euros for each of the victims parents, and an additional 16,200 euros for each maternal grandparent for the costs they incurred in caring for the child. In fact, the daughter was already living with the grandparents prior to the murder because of the situation in the family home.
Despite the continuing situation of ill-treatment during the four years of the relationship, there were no formal complaints from the victim. The aggressor did have a conviction for gender-based violence, however, to his previous partner in 2015.
The deadly beating occurred on the night of December 17-18, 2021. The Prosecutor’s Office reports that the defendant struck her with multiple blows of great force and intensity across her entire body, with his fists, elbows, foot and knees. They were beatings that occurred throughout the house, in the hallway, the kitchen and finally in the bedroom.
According to the autopsy, the cause of death was a polytraumatic shock, with fractured skull and abdominal trauma.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office stresses that the accused was completely aware of what he was doing. The autopsy places the time of death between 23:30 and 1 a.m. in the early morning.
At 7.20am that same morning he showed up at the Civil Guard barracks in Torrevieja, which was about 200 metres from the house. According to the account, he gave his version of what happened, stating that the death occurred during a fight. The officers were only able to confirm the death when they arrived at the house.
The trial will begin on Monday at the Provincial High Court of Alicante with the selection of the jury, the initial pleadings of the parties and the statement of the accused and will continue throughout the week. The hearing is held at the Alicante High Court because it has the competence in cases of gender-based violence.
