This fixation on an old colleague unfolds as a true drama from a small town workplace to a courtroom, a cautionary tale that centers on a clerk who barely kept up at a Valencia area ice company in Alaquàs during a summer that seemed to promise routine. The events of December 2021 saw a young man armed with a machete entering his former workplace and turning a routine visit into a scene of violence, stabbing a coworker three times and pursuing the frightened victim through arrays of desks. The defendant, facing two counts of attempted murder, acknowledged his actions before the court, explaining that his feelings of rejection had driven him to act. He stated, I fell in love with him and felt I was lost in life because I knew he would never be mine. Valencia County Court proceedings, December 2021
Although this case does not appear in the official statistics on sexist violence, it sheds light on the driving forces behind such acts. The sense of possession and the absence of a stable, loving relationship can escalate into violence over perceived affronts, betrayals, or rejections, underscoring a pattern sometimes seen in crimes tied to gendered dynamics.
The accused admitted to being the aggressor who attacked his former partner at the entrance of the shipyard where she was present. In his defense he maintained that there were no plans to kill anyone, save for the possibility of ending his own life. He expressed remorse, saying, I am sorry until I die. On December 27, 2021, he returned to the Alaquàs warehouse where he had worked that summer, as described in the Fifth Circuit’s account of the Valencian County Court. He said his aim was to take his own life in front of his ex-partner, explaining that his obsession had taken over. He admitted that suicide has never been his path because he is still alive, adding, I have not known how to do that because I still breathe. Valencia County Court trial notes
The indictment seeks a total of 18 years in prison for two attempted murders, and an additional 18 years for related threats and actions observed by the prosecutor.
In the formal filings, both the Prosecutor’s Office and the special prosecutor’s office described a clear murderous intent. The mainstream prosecutor’s office requests nine years for each of the two attempted killings and two more years for threats, totaling 18 years for the two violent intents. The special prosecutor’s office pushes for 18 years for the two attempts to kill, reflecting the severity in which the attacked worker endured three stab wounds to the neck, abdomen, and leg, and was chased through the office by the assailant wielding a knife.
Two months earlier, the defendant had already faced accusations of harassment and threats. The record describes an incident where the man threatened to burn the car of the plaintiff and puncture its tires, forcing the victim to lock herself inside a vehicle. While the offender had stopped working at the company, he continued to frequent the premises, with the victim recalling, He was obsessed with me, I knew he would kill me when I saw the look on his face that day. The injured friend barely managed to reach the warehouse and shouted a warning as they tried to exit. The tension lingered as the investigation moved forward, highlighting the dangerous line between obsession and violence in workplace dynamics. Case notes from the Valencian County Court