A 73-year-old Swiss woman died of starvation at her home in Cala Llombards, on the southeast coast of Mallorca, in Santanyí. The victim, who lived at the address with her husband and a dog, apparently only drank small amounts of wine and had decided to stop eating approximately six months ago.
A doctor who had visited her a few days before her death recommended that she be admitted to hospital due to her delicate state of health, but she refused and signed a document. The woman’s husband notified her GP at around 9 p.m. on 30 December when he saw that his wife was in bed breathing agonisingly.
The doctor was on holiday, so the man called the emergency services. The Servei d’Atenció Mèdica Urgent (Samu-061) health services, together with two Guardia Civil officers, rushed to the home, located on Calle sa Platja. The paramedics could only certify the death of the woman, who was very emaciated and weighed about 30 kilos. A forensic doctor on duty arrived at the home, examined the victim and ordered the removal of the body.
According to sources close to the investigation, the woman’s husband explained in English that his wife had been refusing any kind of food for about six months and had decided to die at home. The same sources explained that the victim did not want to die in a hospital like her parents. The Guardia Civil has opened an investigation to try to clarify the exact circumstances of the death.