The Alzira City Council has decreed three days of official mourning for the murder yesterday of her neighbor Raquel Lorente, presumably by her ex-husband, and will gather at 2:00 p.m. today as a sign of rejection.
The National Police continues to investigate what happened, with the main hypothesis being that Raquel’s ex-husband, a retired agent who barricaded himself this Wednesday in a house in Alzira, killed his ex-wife and then committed suicide. The Government Delegation against Gender Violence is investigating this murder as a possible case of gender violence. If confirmed, it would bring the number of women murdered by sexist violence in Spain to 40 in 2023.
Both deceased, 58 years old, she and 70, were married for twelve years but were currently in the process of separating without any previous threats or incidents between them. There was also no protection alert on the Viogen system.
Apparently, the ex-agent retained his ex-wife against her will and barricaded himself in the house after she went, with two of her children, to collect some belongings from the home they had shared.
The notice was received around 10:30 a.m. and when the GEOs entered the house, around 6:00 p.m., after trying to talk to the entrenched person throughout the day without receiving a response, they found the bodies of two people with “incompatible injuries.” with the life”.
At this time, they are waiting for the autopsy to confirm the cause of death of these two people, although, for the moment, the hypothesis of a sexist murder is maintained, police sources have told EFE.
From the Alzira City Council they have condemned the murder of their neighbor Raquel Lorente, and have transferred their “support and strength to the family, friends and colleagues of the victim to face these painful moments.” As a sign of respect and mourning, the city has decreed three days of official mourning, during which the flags will fly at half mast.
He has also called for a rally in front of the City Hall at 2:00 p.m. today as a sign of rejection of this murder, and encourages everyone to participate in this new protest. The City Council condemns violence against women and shows its rejection of those who “deny, excuse or minimize this violence.”
On social networks, the Generalitat Valenciana showed its “most resounding condemnation” for the crime of Alzira and its “firm commitment to the eradication of violence against women”, in addition to transferring its solidarity and condolences to their family and friends.
From the Valencia Provincial Council, its president, Vicent Mompó, lamented that “another crime of sexist violence touches us very closely.” The message from the mayoress of Valencia, Mª José Catalá, conveyed the condolences of the City Council to the family and friends of the victim and to all the residents of Alzira, while stating that she was “appalled by the murder of Raquel. It claims one more victim and it is unbearable”.
On behalf of the Government, the acting Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, assured that “it is our obligation to redouble our efforts to protect all women from sexist violence,” she asserted, and called for “extreme alerts to save lives “.
Also the general secretary of the PSPV, the ‘ex-president’ of the Generalitat Ximo Puig, called it “brutality that they kill women for being women” and warned that “it is intolerable to normalize the biggest anomaly in society.” From Compromís, his deputy in Congress Alberto Ibáñez agreed to show “the strongest condemnation of a harsh sexist murder.”
