Autopsies have confirmed that the deaths of a Civil Guard officer, his wife and their son, whose bodies were found inside a married quarter at the Dolores Civil Guard barracks, were the result of a gender-based crime, the main line of investigation from the outset.
The tragedy was discovered at around 11am last Saturday by a colleague of the officer, casting a shadow over the Vega Baja municipality at a time when it should have been celebrating its patron saint festivities in honour of San Pascual. Instead, Dolores, a town of around 8,500 residents, entered three days of official mourning.
According to sources familiar with the case, forensic examinations carried out at the Institute of Legal Medicine in Alicante concluded that Mariano, 55, allegedly shot and killed his wife, Marisol, 51, and their son, Alberto, 24, before taking his own life with a gunshot to the head. The autopsies found that Marisol and Alberto were killed in separate rooms of the family home, while Mariano’s body was found in another part of the property.
Initial reports had indicated that the woman and her son were found covered with a sheet, while the Civil Guard officer was discovered in the hallway with his service pistol nearby.
Investigators had been treating gender-based violence as a principal line of inquiry, although officials initially stressed that all possibilities remained open. The Government Delegation against Gender Violence confirmed that the case was being examined under that possibility, while the Alicante Civil Guard Command and Government Delegate Pilar Bernabé cautioned at the time that no final conclusion had yet been reached.
Dolores mayor Joaquín Hernández said the barracks had video surveillance and officers on duty 24 hours a day. He added that there was no evidence that any third party had entered the building, and confirmed that all three victims had suffered gunshot wounds. Bernabé also confirmed that there were no previous complaints or reports filed by Marisol in the Viogen gender violence monitoring system.
The case is currently being handled by Court No. 3 in Orihuela, which was on duty when the deaths were discovered. It is expected to step aside in favour of a court specialising in gender-based violence.
The killings have left Dolores stunned. “Nobody can explain it. The town is in shock. What has happened is unbelievable,” said one local resident. First Communion ceremonies went ahead at the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, but the atmosphere in the Plaza de la Constitución was subdued. Planned intercultural activities, including stalls representing the different nationalities living in the town, were cancelled.
Near the barracks, three drawings appeared taped to a nearby window: a white dove marked “RIP” with a red heart, a cross, and a candle with a black ribbon.
The family was well known in Dolores, where they had lived since 1996. Marisol, originally from Ibiza, worked as a school bus monitor. Mariano, from Jaén, had settled in the town after graduating from the Civil Guard academy. Alberto was born and educated in Dolores and had recently been working at a workshop in Catral.
Friends described Marisol and Alberto as inseparable. “They were a very private but very normal family. There was no sign that the couple had any problems,” sources said.
The town council suspended municipal activities and held an extraordinary urgent plenary session on Saturday evening, followed by a minute’s silence in the Town Hall square attended by more than 400 people.
If officially confirmed by the Government Delegation against Gender Violence, Marisol would become the 20th woman killed by gender violence in Spain this year, and the 1,361st since records began in 2003.
Victims of gender-based violence can seek help 24 hours a day by calling 016, emailing 016-online@igualdad.gob.es, or using WhatsApp on 600 000 016. In emergencies, call 112, 091 or 062.
SEE ALSO: Guardia Civil Triple Shooting Death Horror Shocks Dolores
