Spanish investigators believe a couple found dead at their holiday accommodation in Cullera, Valencia, may have been victims of a freak jacuzzi accident in which the husband became trapped by the bath’s powerful suction system and his wife desperately tried to save him.
New details emerging from the investigation suggest Patrick Tobin, a New Zealand citizen, may initially have been pulled beneath the water by the suction mechanism before his Irish wife, Thomasina Tobin, attempted to free him.
The couple were discovered by their teenage children last Tuesday afternoon at the luxury property where the family was staying in the Cap Blanc area of the Valencian coastal resort. ALSO READ: Irish couple found dead beside jacuzzi at rented holiday home in Cullera as Guardia Civil investigates.
According to local reports in Valencia, investigators have found marks on both victims which could be consistent with suction from the jacuzzi’s circulation system, although they were reportedly more pronounced on Patrick.
This has led investigators to consider whether he became trapped first and Thomasina subsequently entered or reached into the jacuzzi in an attempt to rescue him.
Marks and injuries found on her body are also reportedly being examined as possible evidence of the struggle to free her husband.
Both victims are understood to have been found partly outside the jacuzzi, potentially indicating that Thomasina succeeded in releasing Patrick from the suction at some point before both died.
The theory represents a major development in a case which initially left investigators facing a number of possible explanations for the couple’s mysterious deaths.
Couple may have lain undiscovered for more than 12 hours
Thomasina, 51, and Patrick, who lived in London, had been staying with their two children, aged 14 and 16, in a luxury hilltop property in the Colina del Sol gated complex, which forms part of the wider Cap Blanc residential area in Cullera.
The couple may have been dead for more than 12 hours before their children found them, according to a report in The Times.
The teenagers are understood to have searched the large property room by room after becoming concerned about their parents.
After making the discovery, they sought assistance from the person responsible for the holiday accommodation, who contacted the emergency services.
Cullera Local Police and the Guardia Civil attended the property and a major investigation was launched because the circumstances in which the bodies were found were initially unexplained.
Specialist judicial police and forensic officers examined the scene, while the Guardia Civil’s Homicide Group in Valencia took charge of the investigation.
The teenagers, who have special needs and do not speak Spanish, were given assistance by social workers, psychologists and specialist Red Cross emergency personnel following the discovery.
Three relatives subsequently travelled from Ireland to Cullera to be with them.
Electrocution reportedly ruled out
One of the possibilities examined during the initial investigation was whether the couple could have suffered an electrical accident while using the jacuzzi.
That theory has now been ruled out, according to reports in the Valencian media.
Investigators are instead focusing on the possibility of suction entrapment, a rare but recognised hazard involving swimming pools and spa baths in which the force generated by a circulation or drainage system can hold someone against an underwater outlet.
Earlier reports had described unusual marks or injuries on the victims’ bodies. Their precise significance was unclear at the time, with conflicting accounts emerging over whether there were indications of violence.
However, subsequent information reported by the Valencian newspaper Levante-EMV suggests investigators believe the marks could instead be connected to the jacuzzi’s suction system.
Water from the jacuzzi was also taken away for analysis after officers examining the property reportedly found that it appeared cloudy.
Investigators have been attempting to reconstruct the couple’s final movements and determine precisely what happened inside the spa area.
According to the latest local reports, drowning itself has also been discounted as the direct cause of death. The deaths have instead reportedly been attributed to a cardiopulmonary incident associated with acute stress.
The full results of the post-mortem examinations are not expected to be made public, in accordance with normal practice in ongoing judicial investigations in Spain.
Luxury villa complex overlooking the coast
The family had rented accommodation in Colina del Sol, an exclusive gated development overlooking the Mediterranean on the hillside above Cullera.
The Times reported that only one of three luxury properties in the complex advertised online appears to offer a private indoor spa bath, although it has not been publicly established which property the Tobin family had rented.
A manager connected with the holiday accommodation told the newspaper that those responsible were cooperating fully with investigators but would not disclose information about the case.
‘We are doing everything in our power to assist investigators in resolving this matter,’ the manager said. ‘For any further information, please contact the police department handling the case directly as we can not share any details or information.’
Thomasina Tobin was senior London construction executive
Further details have also emerged about the couple following their identification.
Thomasina Tobin was an Irish chartered quantity surveyor and highly experienced construction executive who had spent much of her professional career in London.
Originally from the Drumhowan and Castleblayney area of County Monaghan, she was director of cost management and head of hotels at international professional services consultancy Turner & Townsend.
During her career she was reportedly involved with major luxury hotel and property projects in London, including the Ritz, the Shangri-La at The Shard, The Ned and Damac Tower.
Patrick Tobin was a New Zealand citizen who had reportedly lived in Britain for more than 25 years. His family are understood to be receiving consular assistance.
Rare but recognised danger
Fatal accidents involving jacuzzi and swimming-pool suction systems are uncommon, but suction entrapment has previously caused deaths when swimmers have become pinned against drains or circulation outlets.
The force involved can make it extremely difficult to release someone, even when other people are present and immediately attempt a rescue.
Several fatal incidents involving children and adults have been recorded internationally, including cases in Australia and the United States in which victims could not be pulled away from spa or pool drains despite attempts by bystanders to save them.
Earlier this year, a 12-year-old Italian boy, Matteo Brandimarti, died after his leg reportedly became trapped in the suction system of a hotel hydromassage pool.
In the Cullera investigation, however, the exact sequence of events remains subject to the Guardia Civil’s enquiries.
What began as an unexplained double death that prompted the involvement of homicide and forensic specialists is now increasingly being treated, according to Spanish media reports, as a tragic accident.
Investigators are seeking to establish whether Patrick became trapped by the jacuzzi first and whether Thomasina’s injuries resulted from a desperate attempt to release her husband before she too suffered a fatal medical emergency.
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