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The tragedy that rocked the El Portús campsite deepened last week as the couple’s neighbour, Miguel, confirmed a heart-breaking suicide pact between 82-year-old Margaret and her husband Colin. “Colin told me he didn’t make it,” Miguel told the Guardia Civil after being contacted by Colin to check on the couple.

 

Miguel described arriving at their home to find Colin holding a garbage bag and a tie, while Margaret had died. Shocked and overwhelmed, Miguel was the one who called emergency services that night. The paramedics arrived but could only confirm the death of Margaret, while Colin was unharmed and refused treatment.

 

Colin told officials they had both tried to take their lives together, driven by desperation caused by what he described as “inhumane treatment” and the looming threat of eviction from their home. The couple had lived at El Portús for many years, and friends say Margaret’s death followed “psychological torture” and “institutional harassment” over the past two years. Despite this, management of the campsite denies any harassment, insisting they have offered support and flexibility to residents.

 

Margaret’s body was taken to Cartagena’s Institute of Forensic Medicine for an autopsy. An investigation remains open under Cartagena’s Investigative Court No. 3, with the Guardia Civil confirming there are currently “no signs of criminality.” The exact circumstances of the death are still being determined.

 

From the beginning, Colin and neighbours linked Margaret’s death to the ongoing conflicts between residents and the site’s management, highlighting a failure of authorities to provide adequate help.

 

Colin shared a heartfelt and damning message online, "My wonderful wife, my better half , took her own life due to the inhumane treatment received by legal residents at the El Portús campsite and the complete lack of support from all government authorities. I felt like we were completely abandoned and saw no other way out.”

 

The campsite management however denies this and commented that, "There has been no pressure or coercion toward anyone."

 

This tragic incident continues to reverberate through the community, which remains tense as it grapples with the consequences of long-standing disputes over housing and rights at El Portús.

 

 

Image: Archive