The case of ex-security guard Eugen Sabau, widely referred to as the Tarragona hitman, continues to unfold after reports that he was granted access to euthanasia. He reportedly told authorities that although the victims had not yet stood trial and objected to the process, he had requested assisted death and that the authorities had accepted his request.
Sources close to the matter told Efe that Sabau received assisted death within the prison module of the Terrassa Health Consortium, located in the Barcelona region. He remains in preventive detention due to an irreversible spinal cord injury he sustained during the events that followed his initial attack, which ended with him being neutralized after barricading himself at a security company office in Tarragona and later fleeing to an abandoned farmhouse in Riudoms, Tarragona.
On August 4, the Tarragona court upheld Sabau’s right to euthanasia, a decision supported by the Commission for the Evaluation and Guarantees of Assisted Death Processes. The court also noted that Sabau’s stated wish for euthanasia respected his right to honor and did not infringe upon the victims’ ongoing legal proceedings, which were not yet resolved at that time.
Earlier, in December of the previous year, Sabau allegedly opened fire on several former colleagues who had sustained injuries. The assailant also shot at a police officer at a checkpoint and, after a brief exchange of gunfire, was neutralized. He then barricaded himself inside the Tarragona security company office before fleeing to an abandoned farmhouse in Riudoms, culminating in a prolonged escape attempt that drew significant local attention.
The broader discussion around this case centers on the legal and ethical dimensions of assisted dying, particularly in high-profile violent crime scenarios. Authorities emphasize the need to balance the rights of individuals with serious medical conditions against the impact on victims and their families, as well as the procedural safeguards in place to prevent abuses. The ongoing investigation and its legal trajectory are closely watched by residents and legal observers in Spain and beyond, as they touch on national debates about medical aid in dying, victims’ rights, and public safety in high-stakes criminal cases.