Tributes paid to British mother, 33, stabbed to death at her home in Spain
Emergency services battled to save the woman who was pronounced dead at the scene
A British mother-of-three has been stabbed to death in Spain - with police arresting a man on suspicion of her murder.
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A British mother was stabbed to death at her home in Spain while her three young children were at the property.
Victoria Hart, 33, a hairdresser in the expat haven of Alhaurin el Grande in Andalusia was found dead next to a knife.
Her son, 11, is said to have run from the house to raise the alarm. Her twin daughters, aged six, were also at the house at the time she was attacked.
Neighbours called police after hearing screams at 11.40am on Saturday.
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Officers arrived and Victoria’s son allegedly called his grandmother to say that ‘his father had killed his mother.’
A man said to be Hart’s estranged husband has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Juan Antonio Rueda, who ran a chicken rotisserie in the town, allegedly handed himself in at a local prison and told staff: “Arrest me, I’ve done something very bad.”
The couple split several months ago and Rueda is said to have been subject to a restraining order preventing him from approaching her.
An expat who lives in the area told The Times: “Their marriage had broken down and he was quite violent and there was a restraining order. There was some kind of argument the neighbours heard on Saturday and she ran out in the street bleeding and then went back into the house and died. I don’t know what the kids saw.”
A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Malaga said an investigation had been opened, adding: “Her ex-partner has been arrested as the alleged killer.”
Friend Jane Naughton posted online: “Love should never hurt, you should never have had to go through what you did for so long,” she wrote online. “But you did, and held your head up, thinking of your wonderful kids and your family first, getting him out of your lives.
“What a wicked, evil thing to happen. We will all miss you terribly Victoria, many lives will never be the same again. It’s just so unfair.”