He sits as if on one of the chairs in the room, waiting. This is how the Civil Guard agents located Miguel Santiago Cortés after the murder of his ex partner in Villanueva de Gállego. Mari, thirty-nine years old, faced the crime with a calm dispassion, showing no remorse for what she had done to Carmen.
The behavior described fits the profile of an abuser who does not regret the act, who justifies it despite everything, who maintains authority and lacks empathy. This portrayal emerges from the facts presented by the armed forces at the preliminary hearing of the case. Investigators highlight several episodes that reveal the crime was planned in advance, not a spur of the moment act, especially the moment when the assailant walked to the yard with a knife at a time when the mother who had custody of the child would come to collect him to go home.
One incident, reported by EL PERIÓDICO DE ARAGÓN, illustrates the killer’s profile with shocking clarity. A six year old boy asked why he had done it after witnessing the stabbing. Cortés replied to the child with a harsh phrase: he badly deserved it. The remark was overheard by the boy and by a neighbor who opened the door after hearing the screams from the building located at 7 San Mateo Street.
The neighbor described how he climbed the stairs and saw Cortés heading toward the second floor with the minor. The child turned to his father asking for an explanation and a justification. Once upstairs, the neighbor encountered a corpse on the floor and confronted the murderer, who held a gun in one hand and a cruel calm in the other. The neighbor recounted hearing the killer say, That’s it, that’s it, done.
Meanwhile, another neighbor moved to assist the victim, but Mari did not respond. Help was summoned immediately by dialing 112, and another neighbor joined to provide assistance. They could only confirm death, yet they stayed with the victim until the arrival of the medical team. Cortés then faced a fresh moment of defiance when he descended from the second floor with the weapon again in hand, left the scene, opened the door, and discarded the knife in a wastebasket with a contemptuous motion as if discarding a mere piece of paper. When pressed, he repeated the same justification, saying He badly deserved it.
custody
The investigation continues under the Zaragoza Civil Guard as they examine the mobile devices of both victim and attacker to determine if there were prior threats or a triggering event. The latest records show threats involving the knife against Mari Carmen, which had led to a six month restraining order and community service, as reported by the newspaper. In December Cortés complied, yet the victim allowed their son to spend time with his father. Even with the boy present, it was the killer’s sisters who dressed him, prepared him for school, and entrusted him to a neighbor to take to class.
All of this contributed to the decision by the presiding judge to grant provisional detention last week, despite assurances that Cortés was shaken by the events and would remember nothing clearly. Yesterday, the Governing Council, following the law, ordered that the case be handled by a judge at the Court of Violence Against Women No. 3 in Zaragoza in matters of fatal violence against women.
ask for help
HE 016 provides support for victims of all forms of violence against women. It is a free and confidential helpline that offers service in fifty three languages and does not show on the caller’s bill. Information is also available via email and counseling can be accessed through a WhatsApp line. Minor victims can contact ANAR at a dedicated helpline. All resources addressing gender violence are listed for those in need.
National Police at 091 and Civil Guard at 062 remain the official numbers for contact regarding safety and protection in such cases.