Triple homicide shocks small town

Three minors, aged three, nine and 14, were found dead on Monday at a care home for children suffering from motor-function disorders in Boecillo, in the province of Valladolid, Castilla y León. A monitor at the center, Gabriela L. B., was arrested in connection with the deaths, which appear to have been caused by asphyxiation.

The suspect, a 55-year-old Uruguayan, was admitted to hospital under police custody with injuries to her head and wrists, inflicted with a sharp implement, according to police sources.

The incident began to unfold shortly after 9am at the care home, managed by the non-profit organization Messengers for Peace, in Boecillo, a small municipality with a population of around 3,500. Civil Guard officers were dispatched to the scene after receiving an emergency call reporting an attempted suicide. Gabriela L. B., who was a night monitor at the center, was found unconscious by other employees, sources at the care home said. She was taken to the Clínico hospital in Valladolid.

The mayor of Boecillo, Pedro Luis Díez Ortega, called an emergency meeting of the municipal council at which it was decided to hold an extraordinary meeting today at 12.30pm to declare three days of mourning. "You think these things only ever happen abroad, not 50 meters from your home," Díez said. A moment of silence has also been planned in the center of the town at the same time.

Early hypotheses point to Gabriela L. B. attempting to commit suicide after carrying out the killings and the Civil Guard's main line of inquiry is that these were "compassionate" crimes.

The three children, two Spaniards and a Guinean, were in the care of the regional government and suffered from a medium level of disability. They "were killed by asphyxiation" at the hands of Gabriela L. B., the central government's sub-delegate in Valladolid, Cecilio Vadillo, said at a press conference alongside the regional chief of Social Services, Milagros Marcos, and Father Ángel García, the president and founder of Messengers for Peace, which is responsible for running the center.

Father Ángel said the three children were the only residents at the center, which has capacity for six in total. "These are acts that can only be due to insanity," he added. "No normal person would be capable of this."

"That night the three children who died were the only ones there," said Francisco Sanz, a resident of Boecillo. "Perhaps the fact that there were no more prevented a worse tragedy." The facilities where the children's bodies were discovered are set aside for youngsters with between 78 and 90 percent reduced mobility, the government sub-delegate said. Gabriela L. B. had worked at the center for six years, had a full-time contract and had never caused problems before, Marcos added.