Cameras and background information: key to the trial for the deadly Ibiza fire
The Civil Guard maintains that the defendant's history of violence and security camera footage place her as the perpetrator of the fire in the Countries
The Civil Guard's investigation into the fire that killed an elderly man in a house in Les Països, Ibiza, focused from the outset on the woman now on trial, due to her history of violence, a previous fire, and disagreements she had with the victim's family. The prosecution is seeking life imprisonment with the possibility of parole for the crime of murder. The investigating officers testified this Wednesday before the jury at the Provincial Court of Palma, where they explained that the initial inspections of the house already pointed to arson. The victim's son, initially a suspect, was quickly ruled out after it was confirmed that he was hospitalized in the psychiatric ward of Can Misses Hospital at the time of the incident. The cameras, key to identifying her
The investigation took a decisive turn with the security camera footage from the accused's home. In some fifty recordings, the woman is seen leaving and returning to her residence wearing different clothes and with her face hidden under a veil. "She wore it so the neighbors wouldn't recognize her," explained the officers, who have "no doubt" that it is the defendant.
The recorded times coincide with the call a neighbor made to 112 about the fire. According to the Civil Guard, the woman left home shortly after 1:00 a.m. on August 3, 2023, left her phones at home, and walked for about half an hour to the victims' house, whom she knew well from having been their caregiver.
The researchers' account
According to the officers' testimony, the suspect entered the house "without any problems," where the two elderly people were fast asleep. Once inside, she changed her clothes and took some pillows, which she placed next to the gas tank of the car parked in the garage, which she also set on fire. She then allegedly set fire to the living room sofa. However, the flames in the garage spread more slowly than those inside the house. After igniting the points that, according to the Civil Guard, were meant to spread the fire, the woman left the house without waiting for the garage fire to advance. She returned home, already changed, around 2:00 a.m., when she encountered the firefighters and police officers responding to the call.
For investigators, the motive appears to be retaliation against her partner's family. Both relatives of the victim and psychiatric professionals who had treated the defendant's partner have testified about their conflicts and the "strange" and "manipulative" relationship she had with him.
Background and evidence
The officers noted that the woman already had a record in police databases for violent acts. In one of her previous incidents, she threw acid in the face of a former partner, disfiguring him. During a subsequent search of her home following her arrest, the Civil Guard found the shoes and handbag that appeared in the recordings. On her mobile phones, they found manipulative conversations with her partner—the victim's son—as well as messages in which she attempted to shift the blame for the fire onto the caregiver. The trial continues
The jury is trying the woman for murder and arson. According to the prosecution, one of the victims, the deceased man, was completely dependent and unable to escape the burning house. The trial will continue in the coming days with new testimony and expert evidence.