Foul play ruled out in deaths of Irish woman and partner in Spain
Autopsies have ruled out foul play in the deaths of an Irish woman and her New Zealand partner, who were found in a jacuzzi at a Spanish villa. Investigators are currently exploring the possibility of a freak accident involving a technical failure or a medical emergency.
Why it matters
The case highlights the complexities of international forensic investigations and the tragic nature of accidental deaths involving holidaymakers.
Autopsies on the Irish woman and her partner found dead in their Spanish holiday villa jacuzzi have ruled out foul play.
Tests are continuing to try to determine how exactly the couple lost their lives, but post-mortems have endorsed the idea they were the victims of a freak "chain-reaction" accident.
On Thursday it emerged that Civil Guard investigators were focusing on the theory that one of the pair died trying to save the other in the hot tub at the hilltop property on an exclusive residential estate in Cullera near the east coast Spanish city of Valencia.
Thomasina McArdle, from Co Monaghan, and New Zealand national Patrick Tobin were staying at the villa with their two teenage children who discovered their bodies and raised the alarm on Tuesday afternoon.
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