Family murder: Dad kills two daughters, then self in Asturias, Spain

In a tragic murder-suicide scenario on Thursday this week, the 55-year-old father of two young daughters allegedly murdered the two girls, aged seven and nine, before taking his own life.

It happened in San Juan de la Arena in the Soto del Barco municipality of Asturias in Spain.  The father, José Ignacio Bilbao Aizpurúa, is alleged to have murdered his two daughters, Amets and Sara, 9 and 7 years old respectively, in his apartment before committing suicide by throwing himself off a viaduct in the town.

Apparently the man is separated from his wife, Bárbara García Martínez, and shared custody of the two girls.  He was supposed to return them to their mother on Thursday, but when they did not arrive home, the mother reported this to the police.  On entering the man's apartment, police found blood on the doormat and an iron bar covered in blood inside, as well as the bodies of the two children.  The Civil Guard later found the body of the father under a viaduct on the nearby A-8 motorway.

Neighbors described the father as a sad person who hardly spoke to anyone. The owner of a bar in the town where the man regularly drank coffee, Josefa Barriga Garrido, said: "He was a person who did not speak with anyone. I think that the only person he spoke to was my husband. When my husband learned of the incident he said that it was impossible. He did not believe the father would have done this."

Apparently when the couple divorced a year ago, the father returned to the Basque Region.  However, around three months ago he returned and rented the apartment in the town.  Under the custody agreement, he had the right to see the children on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from four to six in the afternoon.

Due to his quiet nature, most neighbors in the surrounding area did not even know he had two daughters.  On hearing of the tragedy, a teacher at the school the girls attended called it "so cruel and absurd."

Spanish sources:
La Nueva España 1
La Nueva España 2
The Local

Photo:   
Top image screengrab from video
View of San Juan de la Arena CC by-SA Asturkian