Electrocution is believed to have caused the deaths of a London-based couple found in a jacuzzi at a holiday villa on Spain’s east coast, according to a family friend.
Thomasina Tobin, 51, and her husband Patrick, 48, were discovered in the jacuzzi at the property in Cullera on August 25. Their 14- and 16-year-old children are believed to have alerted local authorities after finding them.
Initial postmortem analysis suggested both had suffered cardiopulmonary arrests while in the jacuzzi, with neither death being treated as suspicious.
Police had been examining whether faulty suction fittings had trapped the couple. Other possibilities under investigation included overheating, a filtration system failure and a chemical leak, after detectives reportedly noticed a strong chemical smell near the jacuzzi.
However, the family friend said the Spanish coroner’s report had identified electrocution as the likely cause of death. Patrick, who was from New Zealand, is believed to have died while trying to pull Thomasina from the water.
“There was total confusion about how such an awful thing could have happened and to some extent there still is,” the friend said.
“I understand now that the coroner’s report puts the cause of death down to electrocution and that one of them was found in the (hot tub) and one of them was next to it.”
The friend added: “The assumption is that Paddy was trying to drag Thomasina out. She was really small, but he was still wet and was then electrocuted himself.”
The couple’s children, who are believed to have special needs, are being cared for by relatives in the UK.
