Burgos Monster: Caused a fire that killed 3 women and injured 4 people. In the past, he kept a woman in chains and abused a little girl

A man with a serious history of violence was detained after the burning of a building in Spain on Tuesday night, an incident in which three women died and two children and two adults were injured.

A 60-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of causing a devastating fire in Miranda de Ebro (Burgos), which killed three women – a pensioner, her daughter and a neighbor – and injured four others, including two children, according to El Pais.

Spanish authorities have confirmed that this is the worst case of gender-based violence recorded in Spain since official statistics began in 2003.

The victims are Dolores, 58 years old, her mother Antonia, 78 years old, and Laura Valentina, a 24-year-old young woman who lived in the same building.

Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the Spanish Minister of the Interior, announced that the fire was officially being treated as a machismo murder, with the suspect being Dolores' ex-partner. The two were previously part of the VioGén system, the national monitoring platform for perpetrators and victims of gender-based violence.

He kept a woman in chains and abused a nine-year-old girl

The man has a shocking history of serious crimes. In 2023 he was arrested for allegedly kidnapping, assaulting and chaining a woman he had lured into a car.

In 2017, he was sentenced to three years in prison for kidnapping and abusing a nine-year-old girl.

The individual served several sentences, but was provisionally released after long periods of detention.

According to the police, the suspect presented himself at the station on Wednesday morning, knowing that he was wanted.

How the tragedy happened on Tuesday night

The fire on Tuesday evening broke out around 22:44 in a house located in the center of Miranda de Ebro. Witnesses called 911 to report that several people were trapped inside. Firefighters, police and medical crews from three provinces responded to the scene.

The preliminary investigation shows that the fire was caused intentionally. The suspect would have been seen a short time before in the area where the fire broke out.

The town hall of Miranda de Ebro decreed three days of official mourning, and at noon a minute of silence was held in memory of the victims. Regional and national political leaders sent messages of solidarity, emphasizing the seriousness of the case.

Minister Marlaska recalled that gender-based violence is “a state problem” and called for the firm rejection of speeches that minimize or deny the phenomenon.