Spanish woman murd3red by her estranged Nigerian hubby applied for restraining order but was denied

The 48-year-old Spanish woman, Catalina, who was allegedly murd3red by her estranged Nigerian husband in Spain, had tried to obtain a restraining order from the court but was denied because the case was classified as “medium risk.

The 42-year-old Nigerian, Augustine, allegedly murd3red her and burnt the house with her inside.

The tragic incident happened on Sunday, February 9, 2025 in Benalmádena, Costa del Sol.

Following a violent episode on 20 January, Lina, as she was known in Benalmádena, had not been granted stronger precautionary measures, because there was no evidence of the existence of “an objective situation of risk” for the victim, according to the police.

Catalina is the first victim of a gender-based murder in Andalucía and second in Spain in 2025.

Sources noted that the victim’s body showed signs of assault with a knife.

The children had been in the house at the time of the fire and one of them told the police that Augustine had killed their mum and set the house on fire.

Lina reported Augustine to the police on January 20, accusing him of raising his hand and threatening her.

She said he did not hit her on that occasion but had hit her in the past.

The authorities then entered her case in the VioGen system, which is responsible for assessing the level of risk of domestic violence, but the police classified her case as “medium risk” and continued monitoring it via phone calls.

Lina later filed a court complaint, but the court discovered contradictions in her statement and denied her a restraining order.

At 5.25 am on Sunday 9 February, Augustine called the emergency services to report that a fire had broken out in a house at Calle Alamos 27.

He failed to mention that it was the home of his ex-partner and their children, or that he was responsible for the fire.

When a squad of Benalmádena’s Local Police arrived, they rescued the three children and identified Augustine, who was standing in the street.

One of the children at that point told the officers that his mother was still inside and that his father had killed her.

After extinguishing the fire, the police entered and found Lina’s body in the two-storey house in the old part of the Pueblo.

The deceased had once been married. Her son from that marriage is now 19. She started dating Augustine about 13 years ago. They moved into the house on Calle Álamos, where her mother lived on the second floor and Lina lived downstairs with her partner and their children.

According to sources, she had recently separated from Augustine.

Benalmádena locals claimed that he had been seen with another partner, while Lina’s Facebook profile described her relationship status as “complicated”.

Loles López, regional minister for social inclusion, youth, families and equality, condemned Lina’s death.

She pointed out that Lina had not been part of the Municipal Women’s Information Centre (CMIM).

López stated that all resources have been activated to put the children in care.

Lina leaves behind four children – the 19-year-old boy from her previous marriage and three minors, 11, 9 and 7, from her relationship with Augustine.

The children were inside the house when the crime took place.

The eldest allegedly had tried to stop his father and had been assaulted by him.