A woman in Spain is facing up to six years behind bars after prosecutors accused her of cutting a construction worker’s safety rope while he was dangling high above the ground.
The terrifying incident happened in the resort city of Benidorm on January 20, 2021, as the worker was helping renovate the outside of a high-rise apartment building.
According to prosecutors, the man was suspended between the 12th and 13th floors when the woman allegedly stepped out of her apartment with a sharp object and sliced through one of the ropes keeping him secure.
What happened next could easily have ended in disaster.
Prosecutors say the woman then appeared ready to cut a second rope, but other workers spotted what was happening and began shouting at her to stop.
The worker was left in an extremely dangerous position and reportedly had to grab onto a ledge of the building to keep himself from falling.
More than five years later, the case is now being heard in the Provincial Court of Alicante, where prosecutors are seeking a six-year prison sentence for attempted homicide.
Spanish court information cited by local media confirms that the trial was scheduled for September 28 before the court’s 10th Section. The six-year term is the punishment requested by prosecutors and has not been imposed by the court.
The case drew widespread attention when the woman was first arrested in 2021.
At the time, Spain’s National Police said investigators examined the damaged rope and determined that it appeared to have been cleanly cut with a knife or another sharp object.
Police initially arrested both the woman, then 51, and her 60-year-old husband. Investigators later concluded that the woman had been alone inside the apartment when the rope was allegedly cut, and the husband was released.
Authorities said the dispute apparently centered on renovation work being carried out on the building’s exterior.
The repairs had been approved by the residents’ association, but police said the woman disagreed with the project. When officers went to the apartment, the couple reportedly complained that workers had damaged the hinges of one of their windows during the renovation.
Police also said at the time that the woman may have had a psychiatric condition. That early assessment did not determine criminal responsibility, however, and the allegations are now being considered by the court.
The worker survived the frightening ordeal without falling from the building.
Prosecutors maintain that the woman’s alleged actions were deliberate and placed the worker’s life in immediate danger. Her defense will have the opportunity to challenge that account during the proceedings.
She remains accused, not convicted, and is presumed innocent unless the court finds otherwise.
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