The double crime of Almonte (I): death in the heat of the Virgen del Rocío

Every seven years, the Virgen del Rocío spends nine months in a row in Almonte and not in her usual sanctuary in the village that gives her its name.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
19 December 2023 Tuesday 09:24
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The double crime of Almonte (I): death in the heat of the Virgen del Rocío

Every seven years, the Virgen del Rocío spends nine months in a row in Almonte and not in her usual sanctuary in the village that gives her its name. Her return to the town of Rocío becomes an enormous celebration in which devotion and celebration are mixed. It was in that context of hubbub that a brutal crime occurred in the spring of 2013.

Miguel Ángel Domínguez, 39, and his daughter María, eight, were insistently stabbed to death in their home on Avenida de los Reyes in Almonte. The wife of the deceased and mother of the girl, Marianela Olmedo, had left the family home a couple of weeks ago to go live with the man who was her new love: Francisco Medina, a man devoted to the Virgen del Rocío, of the Blanca Paloma, and that he used to carry her on his back during rituals and processions.

The Civil Guard spent more than a year investigating and ruling out suspects until their investigations focused on Francisco Medina, the man who consoled the widow and mother devastated by pain who, at some point, was also in the crosshairs of those responsible for the case.

All the rivers of passion flow into the black chronicle: desire, greed, jealousy, anger, hatred, love, greed, ambition... There are no stories only of good and bad. There are stories full of nuances, half-truths, strengths and weaknesses, innocence and cruelty.

Dossier Negro is a biweekly black chronicle podcast. You can also find its chapters on podcast platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts, among others.