British man banned from leaving Spain while partner who fell six floors remains in intensive care

A BRITISH man arrested after his partner plunged from the sixth-floor terrace of their Benidorm holiday hotel, has been banned from leaving Spain following a second court appearance, while she remained in intensive care last night.

The 40-year-old tourist has also had to surrender his passport as part of his provisional release conditions while investigators wait to see if his partner recovers so they can question her about the incident.

Well-placed sources said witness evidence had been “contradictory” with claims of rowing before the 36-year-old went over her balcony although some reports have pointed to her partner being inside their room at the time. The unnamed suspect, arrested for attempted homicide in the early hours of last Saturday morning at the four-star Rio Park Hotel, was freed without any “protective measures” after appearing before a judge in a closed-court hearing the following day. It has emerged he was ordered to reappear at a specialist domestic violence court last Tuesday<April11> and told he could be released pending the ongoing criminal investigation, due to the conditions.

A British man who stayed at the same hotel also told of his shock at seeing emergency services at the scene after returning from a night out with his family. The man, who would only be named as Joe, from Merseyside, said: "When we got back there were police, ambulances and fire brigade everywhere. We got told there had been an argument and then the woman had gone over the balcony. It was very sad. There was a man who had been with her sitting on the stairs with two police officers and his phone out on the floor. My wife recognised him from speaking to him the night before outside a shop." A court official said: “That court agreed to his provisional release with the conditions of that release being that he must surrender his passport and couldn’t leave Spain.” A judicial source said: “This was done so the victim who is still hospitalised can testify assuming she recovers from her injuries and is well enough, with a view to the court determining if there is evidence pointing to the hotel incident being a crime or if it was the result of an accident or an attempted suicide.” When she was rushed to hospital in Villajoyosa near Benidorm last weekend and admitted to an intensive care unit, the woman was said to be “critical” with multiple injuries. Local health authority sources confirmed she remains at Marina Baixa Hospital and said her prognosis was “guarded”, meaning doctors currently feel they cannot predict the evolution of her injuries and suggesting there is a risk of future complications. Her partner has not yet been charged with any crime, as formal charges are not normally laid in Spain until shortly before trial at the end of lengthy court probes led by investigating judges which take place behind closed doors. Under Spanish law his status is currently that of an ‘investigado’ which literally means ‘person under investigation.’ A spokesman for Spain’s National Police confirmed after news emerged that a British holidaymaker had been critically injured last weekend: “Officers have arrested a British man on suspicion of attempted homicide after his partner, who is also British, plunged from the sixth-floor balcony of their hotel in Benidorm. “The arrest is a preventative measure and it will be up to a judge to decide what happens next after the man appears before him in the next day or so. “The couple were sharing the same room and we are talking about a foreigner who has no ties to Spain so we are under an obligation to make the arrest as we try to determine what happened."