Police are investigating the deaths of an Irish couple found dead in a jacuzzi at a Spanish coastal resort.
Their two teenage children reportedly discovered their parents’ bodies at a rented villa in Cullera, south of Valencia, and alerted the homeowner.
A specialist Civil Guard homicide unit in Valencia is leading the investigation after the first officers at the scene found evidence suggesting the couple may not have died of natural causes.
Local reports said the pair, aged 50 and 45, had injuries consistent with “puncture wounds”, although the possibility that they died accidentally while using the jacuzzi has not been ruled out.
The discovery was made on Tuesday afternoon at the Cap Blanc residential development in Cullera, a town of around 25,000 people about 40km south of Valencia.
Local police from Cullera Town Hall were mobilised along with the Civil Guard, which is leading the investigation.
Confirming the couple’s nationalities on Wednesday morning, a Civil Guard spokesman in Valencia said: “The bodies of a man aged 50 and a woman aged 45 were found yesterday at a residential property in the municipality of Cullera. Both were Irish.
“Their children discovered the bodies in a jacuzzi and alerted the authorities.
“I’m not in a position to say exactly why but the first officers who reached the scene found evidence pointing to the possibility the couple might not have died of natural causes and therefore a specialist Civil Guard homicide unit in Valencia was mobilised to take charge of the ongoing investigation.
“Nothing has yet been ruled out.”
A sample of the water in the jacuzzi, described in one local report as “cloudy”, was taken for analysis in a specialist laboratory.
A source close to the investigation said the inquiry was unlikely to be resolved quickly and that the autopsies, which are expected to help establish how the couple died, had not yet taken place.
“It’s all very recent still and the autopsies which will help to determine how the couple died have not yet taken place,” the source said.
Another source said it was normal for a water sample to be taken from the jacuzzi and that its analysis could help investigators determine whether it contained DNA belonging to a third person.
The bodies were taken to a forensic medicine institute in Valencia for post-mortem examinations. They were removed from the property shortly before midnight on Tuesday.
The couple’s children, aged 14 and 16, are being cared for by social workers with the assistance of a psychologist.
An uncle of the children is understood to be travelling from Ireland to Spain and the youngsters have been taken to a hotel in Cullera, where they are expected to be reunited with their relative.
It was not immediately clear on Wednesday how long the family had been living in the area.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has been contacted for comment.
Cap Blanc is a residential development near Cullera’s lighthouse, around 40km south of Valencia.
The investigation remains ongoing and authorities have not ruled out any possible explanation for the couple’s deaths.