No peace for The Poison

MYSTERY continues to surround the untimely death of one of Almeria’s most famous exports.

Fifty-two-year-old transvestite Cristina Ortiz Rodriguez, born Jose Antonio but better known by her stage name La Veneno (The Poison) died on November 9 after spending four days in a medically-induced coma.

Her partner had found her lying on the floor in her Madrid home covered in bruises and with a blow to the head.

Alcohol and anti-anxiety drugs were detected in her bloodstream, leading police to give the cause of death as a domestic accident.

Having requested a second autopsy, which returned the same result, her family has now asked for a third, meaning her body remains in a mortuary in northern Madrid.

The cost of retaining the body has now exceeded €10,000, and it is unclear how the family intend to pay the debt, or when they will collect and bury their relative.

La Veneno rose to fame in the 1990s after appearing in a raft of television series such as ‘Esta noche cruzamos el Mississippi’ (Tonight we cross the Mississippi) and ‘La sonrisa del pelícano’ (The Pelican’s Smile).

In 2003 she was sentenced to three years in jail for intentionally setting fire to her apartment before claiming the insurance, and had recently published her biography.