Would-be murderer dies in hospital

A 32-YEAR-OLD man who tried to kill his ex-partner and mother-in-law died in Denia hospital after swallowing hydrochloric acid.

The couple, both Romanian, maintained relations for only nine months and had not seen each other for a year before the attack.

Police afterwards confirmed that there were no past reports of gender violence. He entered his former partner’s apartment while she was out with her family, hiding for several hours and confronting her when she returned and went to bed.

As her ex tried to stab her, the 26-year-old woman warded off most of the blows with her arms but her mother, who went to her defence, was stabbed only millimetres away from her heart.

The two women were admitted to hospital for attention to their cuts and injuries, none of which initially appeared to be serious, including the potentially fatal stab wound so near the mother’s heart.

The attacker fled but was found by Denia’s Policia Nacional in his own home where he had drunk hydrochloric acid, which is easily purchased anywhere in Spain as “Salfuman” drain cleaner .

He was taken under guard to hospital where he died several hours later.