With its panoramic views over the Mediterranean, and absolute privacy, the ground floor spa facilities of the luxury cliff-top villa, in a quaint Spanish coastal village, must have been a draw for countless wealthy tourists looking for a summer holiday.
asserted
facilities → look → holiday
Who wouldn’t be seduced by photos of the relaxing ‘oasis’ on the property’s website – the in-shot bottle of champagne and two glasses next to the hot tub suggesting the manner in which prospective holiday makers might want to kick back and relax with loved ones.
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makers → seduce → ones
So it must have been for Patrick Tobin and his wife Thomasina when they booked the sprawling three-storey Villa Luna, in Cullera, south of Valencia, for a two-week break with their two teenage children this summer.
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they → book → children
They should have been packing up now, preparing to head back to their home in Greenwich, south-east London, and the daily grind of juggling family life and successful careers.
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They → pack → life
Instead, this family has been destroyed and plunged into a macabre story of almost unimaginable horror.
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family → destroy → horror
Patrick and Thomasina are both dead, and the children – a 16-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son, both of whom have special needs – are now coming to terms with the tragic loss of their parents in a mystery that is deepening by the day.
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that → come → day
The only firm fact in this troubling tale is that Patrick and Thomasina’s bodies were found naked beside the hot tub in the spa area in the early hours of August 25.
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bodies → find → August
Initial tests suggest both died after suffering from cardiopulmonary arrest but the cause remains unknown.
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cause → suggest → arrest
In the past ten days, multiple theories have been bandied around.
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theories → bandy → days
Had the couple been electrocuted or died from chemical poisoning?
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couple → electrocute → poisoning
Had they overheated or overdosed, after some evidence of drug use was allegedly found at the scene?
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evidence → overheat → scene
Foul play was quickly ruled out by investigators.
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play → rule → investigators
A hot tub in the Villa Luna, Cullera, where the family were staying for their two-week holiday
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family → stay → holiday
The latest update from the police suggested the couple had been trapped in the tub after it malfunctioned, causing a powerful suction.
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it → suggest → suction
Superficial injuries allegedly found on their bodies seemed to suggest some sort of struggle or rescue attempt.
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injuries → find → struggle
But who was trying to rescue who, and from what, remains subject to wildly conflicting speculation.
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trying → try → speculation
The last theory, however, is one several people with knowledge of how hot tubs function have been quick to dismiss.
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tubs → function → knowledge
Francisco Quero, a spa technician in the Valencia area, told the Daily Mail he did not believe the model they were in would have been capable of malfunctioning in such a way.
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they → tell → way
He said: ‘This is a privately owned [hot tub] on private property, which means its motor runs on two or three horsepower maximum [equivalent to a large lawnmower or pressure washer].
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motor → say → lawnmower
‘It is very strange that an adult would get stuck in the suction system.
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adult → stick → system
A baby might get stuck but not an adult.
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baby → get → ?
‘Even if the grill, which usually protects the suction system was taken away, an adult might get stuck for a moment, they might have a bit of a scare and be left with some bruises, but that’s all.
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that → protect → bruises
‘There could have been an electric shock, causing a person to lose consciousness and block the suction, but... it does not make sense to me.
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it → cause → me
Patrick and Thomasina Tobin, who were found dead next to a hot tub in a Spanish villa
‘
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who → find → villa
It is impossible to get stuck in one of these devices and not be able to get out.
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It → stick → devices
I am not an investigator, and I have not seen the equipment but I would rule out that hypothesis.’
This disbelief was echoed by the CEO of Goccia Spa – the company where a tub for Villa Luna was bought and installed in 2019.
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tub → see → 2019
Defending his company, Carlos Navarro said he had not been informed that one of his company’s hot tubs was involved in the accident and claimed the spa bath shown in videos of the villa from 2021 was not the one sold to the owners seven years ago.
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bath → defend → owners
Mr Navarro additionally told the Daily Mail: ‘I have visited factories all around the world and seen many different designs and it is practically impossible for something like this to happen at hot tubs installed in the home.
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something → tell → home
‘The suction is caused from two holes at the bottom and both have security nets.
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both → cause → nets
Maybe these nets broke and the owner never replaced them.
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owner → break → them
‘It is very improbable but there may have been a chance that one of the holes became covered by something and blocked, causing all the suction to go through the other hole.
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suction → cover → hole
But I still don’t think this would be enough pressure for an adult to get stuck.
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adult → think → ?
There are security measures that cause [hot tubs] to switch off every 15 minutes as well.’
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tubs → be → ?
He added that warranties on his spa tubs only last for two years and liability would lie with the owners if safety nets were not changed.
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nets → add → owners
So what did happen?
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what → happen → ?
Today at Villa Luna, located in the exclusive hillside gated community Cap Blanc, little outside evidence of the tragedy remains.
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evidence → locate → tragedy
The police cordon previously in place has now been removed and blinds and shutters have been pulled down across the home’s huge windows.
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blinds → remove → windows
The managers of Colina Del Sol, where Villa Luna sits alongside two other properties behind electric gates, refuse to speak of the case.
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Luna → sit → case
They continue to live on site and tend to the properties.
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They → continue → properties
Neighbours claim to know nothing.
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Neighbours → claim → nothing
…and 38 more, not listed.
