British couple killed in shooting at Spanish villa
TWO Britons have been found dead in each other’s arms after being shot at their retirement villa in Spain.
Peter Tarsey and his wife Jean, both 77, appear to have been murdered in a bungled burglary near Benidorm.
Their bodies were found by friends worried that they had not turned up for a regular lunch. The couple were locked in a final embrace on their sofa.
Police ruled out suicide because they found no gun, a television had gone missing and the couple’s computer was floating in the pool.
Mr Tarsey, who went by his middle name David, was a diving champion in the 1950s. He competed at the Melbourne Olympics of 1956 and won bronze for England at the 1958 Commonwealth Games.
An officer with Spain’s civil guard said he and his wife had been shot with a small pistol.
He added: ‘Police found the front door open and the couple dead in each other’s arms on the sofa. They died from gunshot wounds and several bullet casings were found on the floor.’
A safe where the Tarseys kept valuables was still locked.
Their friend and neighbour, Susan Keightley, had known them since they moved to the small town of Xalo in 1990.
The 72-year-old said: ‘Everyone here is absolutely devastated.
‘Jean and David were such a lovely couple and it’s just so terrible to think they were shot in their own home.’