Woman stabbed to death by ex-partner who violated restraining order in Figueres, Spain.

NEWS:

A woman was stabbed to death by her ex-partner in broad daylight in a public square in Figueres, Spain, on May 19, 2026, hours after the man was released despite a recent domestic violence conviction and an active restraining order prohibiting him from approaching her.

The killing occurred at about 00:2:45 p.m. in Plaça Josep Tarradellas, a central area of Figueres in Girona province.

Video recorded at the scene captures the violent attack and shows the man repeatedly stabbing the woman in the square. Other footage recorded around the incident shows the victim on the ground and the attacker walking to a nearby fountain, where he washes blood from his hands and arms.

Witnesses confronted and restrained the attacker until police arrived.

Officers from the Mossos d'Esquadra and Figueres municipal police responded along with emergency medical personnel. The woman suffered multiple stab wounds and died at the scene despite the emergency response.

The victim was a Honduran trans woman publicly known as Kimberli or Kim. Initial reports described her as 33 years old. Spain's Ministry of Equality later officially recorded her age as 32 when confirming the killing as a case of gender violence.

The ministry said the alleged killer was her 48-year-old ex-partner and confirmed that previous gender-violence complaints existed against him.

The homicide came after several police and judicial interventions involving the same couple during the preceding days.

On Sunday, May 17, the man was arrested over mistreatment of Kimberli. Judicial records later cited in reporting showed that the police risk assessment did not identify a current risk of a serious physical assault, despite injuries and allegations reported during the incident.

The victim had injuries to her face, neck, chest and lip, according to information contained in the case record. Police also seized a knife from the man during that earlier intervention.

On Monday, May 18, the case went through an expedited proceeding before a court in Figueres dealing with violence against women.

The man accepted a six-month prison sentence for mistreatment. The prison term was suspended rather than immediately served.

The court also prohibited him from possessing weapons for one year and eight months and ordered him to remain at least 250 meters away from Kimberli and have no communication with her for one year and four months.

Hours after that ruling, he was detained again over another incident involving the same woman and an alleged violation of the newly imposed restrictions.

Kimberli was scheduled to undergo a forensic medical examination and provide a statement to judicial authorities the following morning.

Early accounts stated that she failed to appear for the scheduled appointment, after which the man was released.

Subsequent reporting complicated that initial description. Witnesses later said Kimberli had been seen at the courthouse that morning appearing frightened and looking around. Other information indicated that she had visited medical facilities to obtain documentation of her injuries and may have reached the judicial complex without appearing before the correct office.

The man was released at around midday on May 19.

Less than two hours later, Kimberli was fatally attacked in Plaça Josep Tarradellas.

The restraining order remained in force when the killing occurred.

Investigators from the Mossos d'Esquadra's Criminal Investigation Division took charge of the homicide investigation.

Reports based on the scene described stab wounds to the victim's neck, chest, back and arms. Emergency personnel were unable to save her.

The attacker remained in the immediate area after the stabbing. Video shows him at a fountain washing blood from his hands and arms.

Bystanders confronted him and prevented him from leaving before police took him into custody.

The incident took place in daylight in a public square near a children's play area and close to where the victim and suspect had lived.

The judicial history became a major part of the investigation because the suspect had been arrested repeatedly in the days immediately before the killing and had already been formally prohibited from approaching Kimberli.

On May 22, the investigating magistrate ordered the 48-year-old held in provisional detention without bail.

The court opened proceedings against him for intentional homicide and breach of sentence. The classification could still change as the criminal case develops.

The man acknowledged the fatal attack when questioned by the investigating judge, according to information from the judicial proceedings.

The court cited evidence against him along with the risk of flight and serious risk of further offending when ordering his detention.

Prosecutors had sought his imprisonment following the homicide, and Kimberli's family joined the request through the private prosecution.

Spain's Ministry of Equality formally confirmed the case as a gender-violence killing on May 21.

At that point, the ministry said Kimberli was the 22nd woman killed by gender violence in Spain during 2026 and the 1,363rd recorded victim since official nationwide statistics began in 2003.

Figueres city officials held a minute of silence after the killing.

Mayor Jordi Masquef said the circumstances demonstrated that the system had failed to protect the victim and announced that the city government intended to participate in the proceedings as a popular prosecution.

Hundreds of people later gathered in Figueres to condemn the killing.

Additional information emerged as investigators and journalists reconstructed what happened before Kimberli's death.

Later reporting based on police documentation said the suspect had threatened to kill her while he was detained over the earlier domestic violence incident.

That information was not part of the initial public account of the case and emerged weeks after the homicide.

The Girona prosecutor's office subsequently faced questions over why preventive detention had not been requested before the fatal attack despite the recent violence, repeated police interventions and restraining-order violation.

Later reporting said prosecutors planned to review procedures used in gender-violence cases following the Figueres killing.

The publicly available judicial information through the later updates reviewed for this report showed the suspect remaining in provisional detention while facing proceedings for intentional homicide and breach of sentence. No final trial judgment had yet been publicly reported.

News story written by DarkGore.

For more on this case:

If you want to know more about this case, just visit the following URL: https://elcaso.elnacional.cat/es/noticias/hombre-mata-pareja-figueres-quebrantar-orden-alejamiento_1642225102.html