British man questioned in connection with death of Irishman in Benidorm
Gerard Couzens
Police have questioned a British man suspected of stabbing his Irish flatmate to death in Benidorm.
The 68-year-old died in hospital on Friday as a result of his injuries. The British man had initially blamed the knife attack on intruders, according to a source.
The British man was formally arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide at Marina Baixa Hospital before the death of his alleged victim.
Sources said the 62-year-old has since been formally interrogated in hospital, where he is understood to be receiving treatment for knife wounds.
A judge has extended his remand in order for the man to be treated for his injuries. He is thought to have sustained the injuries in a violent fight with the Irishman on Thursday morning.
The Briton will again be questioned by the investigating judge, either in hospital or at a local court, once he has recovered sufficiently.
On Monday, a spokesperson for Spain’s National Police in Alicante said: “The British man remains under police guard in hospital.
“He has been formally questioned by detectives in hospital but not yet by the judge. The judge has extended his remand period.”
Police have made no comment on what the suspect told investigators regarding Thursday’s incident.
'External group'
The source said the man had originally pinned the incident on an "external group", but this was refuted by a witness.
Police said they informed early on Friday that the unnamed Irishman had died at a hospital in Villajoyosa, near Benidorm.
The man had been revived by paramedics at the scene, a property in a cul-de-sac near a four-star hotel in the Costa Blanca resort, at around 10.30am on Thursday.
Speaking following the Irishman's death, a spokesperson for Spain’s National Police said: “Around 10.30am on Thursday, an emergency call was received saying two men bleeding from apparent stab wounds were in a property in Benidorm.
“Officers found a British 62-year-old who had suffered stab wounds outside the property when they arrived and another man, a 68-year-old Irish man, on an upper floor of the property in a very serious condition with multiple stab wounds to his chest, abdomen, head and left leg.
“Both men were transferred to Villajoyosa Hospital and an investigation launched into the incident.
“So far those investigations have determined the British man would appear to have inflicted the injuries the other man suffered and he had been arrested as the suspected author of a crime of attempted homicide and wounding pending a medical evaluation of the Irish national.
“He was also placed under police guard in hospital. It would appear a fight occurred between both men, who live together, and they injured each other.”
