The 2 kids killed in Spain

Montse · May 19, 2010

Held mother's ex on sex charges

The two children were found dead in the Hotel Miramar in Lloret de Mar

The former partner of a UK woman being held in Costa Brava after her two children were found dead is an alleged paedophile, police sources have said.

Martin Smith, 45, of North Shields, was arrested near Barcelona this month and extradited from Spain this week.

Mr Smith was told about the deaths of the children on Tuesday, the sources said.

His ex-partner was held after a girl, five, and her one-year-old brother were found dead in a hotel in Lloret de Mar.

Mr Smith, who jumped bail in 2008 while facing rape charges on a child under 16 and gross indecency charges, has been remanded in custody at Carlisle magistrates court.

The alleged attacks took place between 1995 and 2005.

Police said the children were discovered in a room at the Hotel Miramar in the coastal town.

They said the mother telephoned the hotel's reception desk to call the police and ambulance service.

The woman has been moved to the nearby town of Blanes and will be questioned further by police on Wednesday.

Sombre place

The bodies of her two children were discovered on Tuesday afternoon in their room at the 4-star hotel on the Costa Brava, in the north-eastern province of Girona.

Police said there were no outward signs of violence but officers have not confirmed reports in Spanish newspapers that the children were suffocated. A post-mortem examination is expected within the next few days.

The BBC's Dominic Hughes in Spain says the the Hotel Miramar has reopened for business, having been closed for most of Tuesday afternoon, but it is a sombre place.

Room 101, where the bodies were found, remains sealed off.

Police said the family were on holiday in the resort. It is not clear whether the children's father was travelling with them.

The Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are in contact with the Spanish police but because the children are minors we cannot say much. There is an ongoing investigation."

A Spanish police spokesman said on Tuesday: "The mother will be held in police custody overnight and officers will continue to question her tomorrow."

Popular destination

Local police were called to the scene, 45 miles (70km) north of Barcelona, shortly before 1400 local time.

A Girona police spokesman said: "When the officers arrived they found two children inside a room at a hotel.

"Girona police are investigating the death of the two children. The police have detained the mother of the minors to find out what happened."

Lloret de Mar is a popular destination for British holidaymakers.

A spokesman for travel association Abta said: "It's a very traditional Spanish resort, similar to Benidorm and Torremolinos."

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Very sad all round RIP to the kiddies and the parents can rot

cymrococh · May 19, 2010