Two hours is the time a Swedish woman spent locked up, against her will, in a bathroom with her five-month-old baby. Tireless sounds, screams and violent blows. Two hours that seemed eternal between those four walls. And only one sound of hope: the entry of the National Police into the apartment to rescue them and stop the cause of this whole situation, the sentimental couple This is what happened to a woman on Monday, August 12, in a house located in the Puente de Vallecas neighborhood.
To reach her, the victim was able to call a family member to alert them of her dramatic situation. Thus, this third person communicated what was happening in Madrid to Swedish policeconcerned about the possibility that this woman was being held against her will and attacked by her romantic partner.
The foreign police then contacted Interpol to begin rescue procedures. It was this international organization that passed the information on to the Spanish national agents so that they could intervene quickly in the situation, putting an end to the nightmare that this woman was living in the toilet of horrors.
Immediately, specialized agents from the Family and Women’s Aid Unit (UFAM), as well as uniformed units from the National Police, arrived at the home. There, they came across a man with a nervous and elusive attitude. After talking with him for a few minutes, he was questioned about the situation of his love partner. His heart rate accelerated, as did the insistence of the police.
The officers entered the house and located the woman, locked in the bathroom with her five-month-old baby. In addition to suffering from delirious nervousness about the situation, she was threatened by the man: she could not go out during the visit of the men in uniform because otherwise would suffer serious consequences.
More than 24 hours without eating
In just over an hour, the victims saw the exit door to their freedom and safety. As they left the cave, the woman declared that she was held against his will and incommunicado. In addition, she had not eaten for more than 24 hours and had been repeatedly assaulted by her partner. The consequences of these blows were visible and painful, generating psychological trauma in the affected woman.
Due to these events, the officers arrested the man as the alleged perpetrator of the crimes of mistreatment in terms of gender violence and illegal detention, and he was placed at the disposal of the judicial authority.
This is not the only case of a woman being held against her will so far in 2024. In February, a Bulgarian woman was detained in Pezuela de las Torres prison, beaten and raped by her partner, a 50-year-old man with a long criminal history. The victim had injuries and marks all over her body.
The investigation began when the woman managed to escape with a box cutter to seek help at a nearby gas station. Immediately, Civil Guard officers from the Villalbilla barracks arrived at the facility and took her to the hospital. At the same time, they forwarded the information about the complaint to the Judicial Police, whose officers went to the hospital to corroborate their version once the sexual assault protocol had been applied. The officers also discovered that a few days before the victim had an abortionwhich the medical examiner said could be due to abuse.
