A British woman has been killed with a pair of scissors in front of her four-year-old son at a family hotel in Albufeira, Portugal, with the child's father reportedly arrested as the suspect. The attack, which happened around 6.42pm at the four-star Alfagar Alto Da Colina aparthotel, matters because it has left a young child hospitalised and traumatised, and has raised questions over how the couple's holiday erupted into fatal violence witnessed by their son.

The unnamed victim, 34, was stabbed multiple times in her hotel room and again in a corridor as she tried to flee, before being pronounced dead at the scene; blood was reportedly still visible on the walls late into the night. Her son, who turned four the day the killing was reported, remained in Faro Hospital with a leg injury while relatives travelled to the Algarve, with a Family and Juvenile Court to decide his future. The suspect, also 34, was in police custody with no court date yet set, though he is expected before a judge at Portimao Court within 48 hours of arrest; Portuguese police have confirmed both were British nationals but have not disclosed further details.