Two elderly people have been found dead in their house on Rua Dr. António Guerreiro Tello, near the Santo Amaro market, Lagos.
The Judiciary Police are investigating the case, but Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manhã has suggested that given the scenario they were found in, the authorities think it was a homicide followed by suicide.
According to the newspaper, the 74-year-old woman has been suffering from depression for a few years and had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. It is thought that this may have made the couple's life too hard, so there may have been a pact between the two, to end the suffering.
The newspaper said that the woman was found lying in bed, with ropes around her neck, and the 77-year-old man was found hanged in the backyard.
According to the Correio da Manhã, the alert was given by the couple's son when he discovered what had happened after the father sent him a message, asking him to go to the house.
Events have left the neighbours in shock. The couple had lived in this house for decades, so having known them for many years one neighbour remembers them as a couple who were “very friendly, who were often out for walks in the area”, never seemingly to argue. The neighbour added that the elderly lady “complained about being ill, she was a little shy, and the husband was a very calm and peaceful person”.
The couple had worked in the hotel business, him as a waiter and her as a room maid, but were now retired.
See original article in Portuguese at https://www.cmjornal.pt/
Photo by Vania Martins.
