Boy, 16, and his mum arrested over murder of British gran shot dead in Spanish villa

Two people arrested over the murder of a British pensioner on the Costa Blanca are a 46-year-old woman and her 16-year-old son, Spanish police have confirmed.

A man and a woman were arrested on Thursday after the elderly victim, named locally as Monica W., was found dead in her villa, having been shot three times at close range with a .22 calibre pistol.

The pair, arrested in different locations near to the villa, are being quizzed by detectives ahead of appearances in separate courts.

Police said they suspected the mum could be the one who shot the victim dead and her son could have assisted her by moving the body and trying to erase fingerprints and dispose of other evidence.

The suspected murder weapon, a .22 calibre pistol, has been seized.

And detectives have revealed they are working on the basis that the killing was not the result of a bungled burglary by intruders who had no idea who lived in the property.

The investigation near Elche continues ( Image: Humphrey Nemar)

Locals today revealed the pensioner found murdered was so frail you could “knock her down with a feather”.

Shocked neighbour Alan Benson, 70, said the 81-year-old had lived in the spacious gated £350,000 home for around 20 years.

The Brit is thought to have moved from London to the small village near Elche, not far from Alicante, with her late husband John, whose ashes are buried under a pyramid in the garden.

He told the Mirror: “She was my friend. She’s lived here I think about 20 years. She moved here with her husband John from London, but John died about 15 years ago.

Two people have been arrested ( Image: Humphrey Nemar)

“We have no idea what happened. It’s really strange because Monica was very afraid of Covid and to let strangers into her house would have been impossible to do.

“It’s so tragic. I can’t imagine what happened.”

The retired expat said locals in the 90-home estate outside Elche had beefed up security and regularly shared information with each other on a local WhatsApp group after burglars started targeting homes.

He said Monica, who he believed had worked as a model in London and originated from Europe before marrying a Brit, was very “worried about Covid” and had previously expressed fears about delivery men “casing her home”.

He added: “The village has had a problem with robberies in the past few years. About a third of the houses on this estate have been robbed in the last four years. When they rob your house they completely destroy it inside.

Police investigate at the villa of the Brit pensioner ( Image: Humphrey Nemar)

“She was tall but she was incredibly thin. You could knock her over with a feather – I just don’t understand why they did it. That element of violence is just terrible.

“It was a paradise here [before the robberies started], now it’s a paradise lost.

“You would think this would happen in a city – not a village with 90 houses. It can never be the same here.

“I hope they catch the right people and they pay for what they have done.”

Police teams pictured at the scene ( Image: Humphrey Nemar)

Police were still scouring the property this morning while neighbours left floral tributes by the front gate.

Detectives were said before the arrests to be keeping an open mind on the motive amid reports a plumber called to the British expat’s home to carry out an urgent repair raised the alarm after seeing a man and woman wearing hoodies and face masks leaving the villa as he arrived.

Police discovered Monica’s body inside the property around 7pm on Wednesday after forcing entry.

A spokesman for Spanish National Police said: “Although the motive is not yet known and the investigators are currently working on establishing it, the hypothesis this was a fortuitous robbery has been ruled out based on the fact that the victim and the detainees appeared to know each other.”

The police spokesman said: “The body of the victim appears to have been moved from the place where she was shot to the place where she was found dead.”

Police have provided an update ( Image: Humphrey Nemar)

Detectives have also confirmed a vehicle set alight in Alicante following the murder coincides with the car a witness saw two people leave the British woman’s house in on Wednesday.

The police spokesman said: “The female suspect, owner of the car that was gutted, practices target shooting as a hobby, has a licence and has a pistol registered in her name which is the same model and calibre as that found by detectives during an inspection of the house.

“The woman had reported the car as stolen the day after the discovery of the victim’s body, saying her .22 Beretta had disappeared from the vehicle before that.”

The Brit pensioner died at her home on the Costa Blanca ( Image: Humphrey Nemar)

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