Girl, 3, and father found dead in Spain – police suspect ‘vicarious violence’

A three-year-old girl and her father were found dead in their home in Torrevieja, Spain, on Thursday, prompting a police investigation into suspected vicarious violence. The deaths have sent shockwaves through the community and prompted expressions of grief from regional officials.

Police were alerted after the girl’s mother, who is separated from the father, contacted authorities when she was unable to reach him for several hours and feared for her daughter’s safety. Officers discovered the bodies of the 40-year-old man and his daughter at approximately 1:00 a.m. Local time at a residence in the center of Torrevieja, according to a statement from the Civil Guard of Alicante.

Authorities are investigating the case as a potential instance of vicarious violence, defined as a form of gender-based abuse where a perpetrator harms a partner by targeting individuals or objects they cherish, often their children. The Civil Guard confirmed there were no prior reports of domestic abuse between the parents.

“The Civil Guard of Alicante confirms the discovery of two lifeless bodies around 1am today, March 21, in a residence in the centre of Torrevieja,” a spokesman stated. “It is a 40-year-old man and his three-year-old daughter. The child’s mother, a 36-year-old woman and ex-partner of the alleged perpetrator, notified the Civil Guard last night that she had been unable to contact him for several hours and feared that the father might have harmed his daughter, who was with him.”

Pilar Bernabe, a central government spokesman for the Valencian Community, expressed her shock on X, stating, “Shocked by the murder of a minor in Alicante. Unbearable terrorism. All my love to his family and friends.” The central government delegation for the region indicated they are collecting information regarding the alleged vicarious violence in the province of Alicante.

The Costa Blanca region, where Torrevieja is located, is currently under a high alert for a major storm, though authorities have not indicated any connection between the weather event and the deaths.