No more beer in the fridge Swiss woman killed with axe by son-in-law in Mallorca

Colònia de Sant Jordi in the south of Mallorca is a small and quiet coastal town with less than 3000 inhabitants. However, an act of violence - apparently for a trivial reason - is now causing a stir there.

Police in Mallorca have arrested a man who allegedly killed his Swiss-born mother-in-law with an axe. The arrested man is Portuguese and 47 years old, according to the police on the Spanish vacation island. The man is suspected of murder, they said. The victim was 74 years old. According to the findings, the crime took place on Wednesday evening near the coastal town of Colònia de Sant Jordi, around 50 kilometers southeast of the island's capital Palma.

The police did not initially comment on the possible motive for the crime. According to media reports, the Portuguese man is said to have gone berserk because there was no more beer in the fridge and he had no money to buy alcohol. A neighbor heard screams and alerted the police, reported the regional newspapers "Diario de Mallorca" and "Última Hora", among others.

Man already known to be violent

When officers from the Guardia Civil (Civil Guard) police unit arrived at the country house, they quickly discovered the body of the 74-year-old lying in a pool of blood. According to the police, the suspect was the only other person in the house and was therefore arrested immediately. The man with a criminal record is currently being held in a cell at a police station. He is to be brought before a magistrate.

"Última Hora" reported that the victim's daughter had already separated from the man in June last year and had also reported him for gender-based violence. However, the 47-year-old refused to move out of the house. He therefore lived there until the end with his ex-partner and mother-in-law, who had also lived in Germany for a long time in the past.

dpa