Murder marks the new year

The festive atmosphere of Coll d'en Rabassa was shattered yesterday when the body of 22-year-old Sandra González Aguilera, was found at the ground floor flat in calle Brunete she shared with her boyfriend. She had been battered about the head with a builder's hammer. Her boyfriend, 25-year-old Alberto Lopez Rodriguez was found with the body in the flat and was arrested, suspected of having killed her. Sandra González's parents had been expecting the couple, who had been together for the past five years, for lunch on Wednesday and had been trying to telephone the flat all afternoon. Yesterday morning the victim's parents were absolutely devastated as they reached their daughter's flat to see her body being carried out in a bag. Sandra and her boyfriend had spent New Year's Eve with Alberto Lopez's parents. Yesterday they said the couple appeared fine together “they did not seem as though they had been arguing.” But it appears that he has tried to commit suicide on two occasions, the last it appears just after murdering Sandra, by slashing his wrists. The scars from the previous attempt can still be clearly seen, and in the past he had battled problems with drug and alcohol abuse. At 10.30 yesterday morning, Alberto's mother dropped round to see the couple after not hearing from them. He opened the door and apparently confessed to having killed Sandra. It appears that Sandra was killed on Wednesday evening and Alberto spent around ten hours alone in the flat with his girlfriend's body. Police sources said yesterday that initial inquiries have established that a number of neighbours have spoken of hearing loud bangs coming from the flat around midnight. However, friends of the waitress and the builder's labourer said that the couple very rarely argued. The police believe that on Wednesday night Alberto killed his girlfriend and then tried to take his own life. Alberto, who had been living with Sandra since last November, was yesterday taken to the General Hospital where he was under police guard last night. As he was led from the scene Sandra's mother screamed “murderer, murderer! why?” “Don't worry, you be calm in the knowledge that soon I'll be with her,” he replied.