‘It’s practically impossible for this to happen’: Final hours of high-flying couple found dead near hot tub of their luxury Spanish holiday villa… as firm who sold hot tub insist they aren’t to blame
A British couple, Patrick and Thomasina Tobin from Greenwich, south-east London, were found dead naked beside the hot tub of a luxury cliff-top villa in Cullera, near Valencia, in the early hours of 25 August, while on a two-week family holiday. The case has attracted widespread attention because the couple's two teenage children, both of whom have special needs, were present at the property, and because investigators and experts have struggled to agree on how the deaths occurred, despite ruling out foul play.
Initial tests indicate both died of cardiopulmonary arrest, though the exact cause is still unconfirmed, and theories have ranged from electrocution and chemical poisoning to overheating or drug use. Police have suggested the pair may have become trapped by a malfunctioning suction mechanism in the tub, with minor injuries hinting at a struggle or rescue attempt, but spa technician Francisco Quero and Carlos Navarro, chief executive of Goccia Spa, which sold a hot tub to the villa in 2019, have both dismissed this theory as implausible for an adult, with Navarro also disputing that the tub shown in recent images is even the one his firm supplied.
- British couple found dead by hot tub at Spanish holiday villa
- Cause of death unclear; cardiopulmonary arrest suspected, foul play ruled out
- Hot tub suppliers dispute police theory of a fatal suction malfunction
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Patrick and Thomasina Tobin, a British couple from Greenwich, were on a two-week family holiday at a rented luxury villa in Cullera, near Valencia, when they were found dead beside the property's hot tub in the early hours of 25 August. Their two teenage children, both of whom have special needs, were at the villa at the time. Spanish police have ruled out foul play but have not yet established a confirmed cause of death.
Investigators and outside experts remain divided over what happened, with theories including electrocution, chemical poisoning, overheating and drug use. Police have floated the possibility that the couple became trapped by a malfunctioning suction mechanism in the tub, but this has been disputed by a spa technician and by the head of the company that installed a hot tub at the villa in 2019, who also questions whether the unit pictured is even the one his firm supplied.
The case has drawn wide attention both because of the unusual and still-unexplained circumstances and because of the presence of the couple's vulnerable children in the property when the bodies were discovered.