{"id":79827,"date":"2026-09-03T04:34:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T04:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/79827\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T04:34:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T04:34:09","slug":"new-zealand-man-patrick-tobin-and-wife-die-in-spain-spa-pool-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/79827\/","title":{"rendered":"New Zealand man Patrick Tobin and wife die in Spain spa pool tragedy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cOut of respect to the family\u2019s privacy, we are not in a position to comment or share any details at this point of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomasina Tobin was understood to be a quantity surveyor originally from Castleblayney in Co Monaghan, Ireland.<\/p>\n

\"PatrickPatrick Tobin, 48, and his wife, Thomasina Tobin, 51, were found dead after an incident involving an outdoor spa pool.<\/p>\n

The couple lived in London and were holidaying in Spain with their two teenage children when the tragedy occurred.<\/p>\n

The Daily Mail reported the family were holidaying at Villa Luna, an exclusive three-bedroom property within a gated complex in Cullera. The accommodation is understood to cost about $4600 a week to rent.<\/p>\n

Spanish newspaper Las Provincias reported preliminary autopsy findings indicate both died after suffering cardiac arrests during an apparent accident involving the spa pool.<\/p>\n

Local media reported the family had enjoyed a barbecue before Patrick and Thomasina Tobin went to use the spa about 3pm.<\/p>\n

\"AA spa bath inside Villa Luna, the complex where the couple were staying. Photo \/ Villa Luna<\/p>\n

About four hours later, the couple\u2019s 14-year-old son reportedly went looking for his parents and found them lying near the spa pool exit. Believing they were asleep, he returned upstairs.<\/p>\n

The couple\u2019s children, aged 14 and 16 and both with special needs, later discovered their parents had died and went to the building owners for help.<\/p>\n

Investigators initially considered the possibility of foul play after scratches and other marks were found on the couple\u2019s bodies. However, a double homicide has since been ruled out, with authorities focusing on whether a fault in the spa\u2019s drainage and suction system trapped them.<\/p>\n

According to El Pais and Las Provincias, investigators believe the hydro-massage system may have created a powerful vacuum that prevented the couple from freeing themselves.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe exterior of Villa Luna, where the couple were staying. Photo \/ Villa Luna<\/p>\n

Injuries identified during the autopsies were deemed consistent with the couple struggling against the suction force and attempting to help one another rather than signs of an assault.<\/p>\n

According to local outlets, investigators believe Patrick Tobin became trapped first after being caught by a suction intake. Thomasina Tobin is believed to have tried to free her husband before both died during the ordeal, the Telegraph reported.<\/p>\n

The investigation has now turned to the spa\u2019s mechanical condition and safety features.<\/p>\n

Although investigators believe accidental entrapment is the most likely explanation, authorities have not yet confirmed an official cause of death.<\/p>\n

Water samples have been sent for laboratory analysis as part of the continuing investigation.<\/p>\n

The Herald has approached HCLTech for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cOut of respect to the family\u2019s privacy, we are not in a position to comment or share any…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79828,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[29955,459,18542,855,16585,15922,29956,3243,2068,24227,9480,2204,6556,29149,20463,4815,13842,17,3043,29150,1792,24611,974,778,29957,29154],"class_list":["post-79827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spain","tag-alongside","tag-and","tag-been","tag-companies","tag-die","tag-died","tag-executive","tag-have","tag-in","tag-irish","tag-largest","tag-man","tag-new","tag-patrick","tag-pool","tag-senior","tag-spa","tag-spain","tag-technology","tag-tobin","tag-tragedy","tag-understood","tag-wife","tag-with","tag-worlds","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}