British man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in Spain as wife plunges six storeys from Benidorm hotel balcony
9 April 2023, 13:08 | Updated: 10 April 2023, 01:14
A British man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in Spain after his wife fell six floors from their hotel balcony.
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The unnamed woman, aged 36, is said to be in a critical condition in hospital after the fall, which took place late on Saturday night in the city of Benidorm, a popular tourist destination.
Emergency services were called around midnight, with the 40-year-old man, also unnamed, taken into custody by police while they investigate the circumstances of the woman's fall.
The couple were staying at the Rio Park hotel, which is part of the Medplaya chain.
A spokesman for Spain's National Police confirmed: "Officers have arrested a British man on suspicion of attempted homicide after his wife who is also British plunged from the sixth-floor balcony of their hotel in Benidorm.
"The arrest is a preventative measure and it will be up to a judge to decide what happens next after the man appears before him in the next day or so.
"The couple were sharing the same room and we are talking about a foreigner who has no ties to Spain so we are under an obligation to make the arrest as we try to determine what happened."
The man will face a preliminary court hearing on Saturday or Sunday, which will be in private - as is usual for Spain, where only trials are held in public.
The judge will decide if the suspect will be held in custody, released on bail pending further investigations, or allowed to go free.
