Murdered woman went to the Guardia hours before stabbing

The Guardia command headquarters in Palma has opened an internal investigation to establish if the procedures for dealing with cases of gender violence were followed in the correct manner. It will be taking statements from the duty commander and other officers at the Puerto Pollensa station at the time when she went there - around six o'clock on Sunday morning. The Palma command has made clear that if there was a lack of professionalism, action will be taken. "We can guarantee that there will not be any corporatism". A court in Inca will be considering the actions of the Puerto Pollensa Guardia on the day in question.

Meanwhile, events on Sunday morning are becoming clearer. One factor is that only one witness, a German, actually went to try and help the woman. This was despite the fact that numerous residents and passers-by were aware of the initial altercation inside the apartment and then witnessed the stabbing on the balcony. Of these witnesses, some of them, or so it would appear, were more intent on recording what was happening. Guardia investigators suspect that there may have been an intention to sell the recordings.

Ioan Ciotan, who was arrested at the scene on Sunday, yesterday appeared before an Inca court which specialises in violence against women. He has been charged with murder and was ordered to be detained in custody.