27-Year-Old Red Cross Volunteer Found Dead in Santander, Spain, Ex-Boyfriend in Custody

A 27-year-old Spanish woman who spent three years volunteering for the Red Cross to fight domestic violence was found dead in her own apartment in Santander, in northern Spain, late last month. The man accused of killing her is her former boyfriend.

Paula Solanas de Miguel died in her home in Santander, according to Breitbart. Police arrived after a call from her ex-boyfriend, 39-year-old Moroccan national Nabil Khalissi, who reportedly confessed to the killing during that same call.

A neighbor described the scene to local reporters after medical examiners left the apartment. The neighbor said the examiners called it horrifying and said they hadn't seen anything like it in a long time, according to Breitbart's account, which cited Spanish outlet El Diario.

Who She Was

Solanas de Miguel wasn't a bystander to the issue of gender-based violence. She was a working volunteer against it.

For more than three years she worked with a Red Cross program, running workshops for children on equality and preventing gender-based violence. She taught at Veranuco summer schools, according to a fellow volunteer quoted in coverage of a protest held in Santander after her death.

"She was a really lovely girl, a super-active volunteer," the colleague said. "She gave workshops to the youngest children at the Veranuco summer schools, prepared materials, and was involved in every project she participated in."

El Diario noted the grim irony directly: the violence she spent years teaching children to recognize and reject was the same violence that ended her life at 27.

What Her Parents Told the Court

Solanas de Miguel's parents gave testimony to Judge María del Sol González laying out the relationship's timeline and what they say changed in their daughter.

They said their daughter and Khalissi began dating around four years ago and had a child together. The parents said they have since adopted that child.

The parents told the court they believe the breakup was the motive. They described Khalissi as "very controlling and possessive."

They also told the judge their daughter's behavior changed noticeably during the relationship. They said she stopped eating pork and began wearing baggy clothing while she was with Khalissi.

After the relationship ended, they said the change reversed. "She started dressing more femininely again, going to concerts, having dinner with friends — it seemed like she was coming back to life," the parents said, according to the account relayed in court testimony. They said she had also re-enrolled in school, pursuing a vocational training program in Social Integration.

These are the parents' characterizations, made in testimony to the judge overseeing the case. They have not been independently verified by outside investigators and represent the family's account of what they observed, not a court finding.

Where the Case Stands

Khalissi appeared before the court following his alleged confession to police at the scene. He invoked his right to remain silent and did not answer questions.

Observers in the courtroom described him as cold and said he showed no emotion during the hearing. No trial date has been reported. Khalissi has not entered a formal plea in any of the available reporting, and no conviction has occurred. He remains legally presumed innocent unless and until a Spanish court finds otherwise, regardless of the reported confession to police.

What's Missing From the Coverage

The available reporting relies heavily on Breitbart's account, which itself draws from El Diario and testimony described at a protest and in court filings. Neither source cited here provides an official police statement, a formal charge sheet, or confirmation from Spanish prosecutors about what charges Khalissi actually faces. Spain's judicial system will determine the formal charges, and until that happens, descriptions of a "confession" rest on secondhand accounts of what was said on a phone call, not a verified transcript or police report.

Spain has struggled for years with what it categorizes as "gender violence" homicides, and the government maintains an official registry tracking such deaths, but that context did not appear in either source used here. Whether Solanas de Miguel's death will be formally logged in that registry and what charges prosecutors ultimately file remain open questions as the case moves through Judge González's court in Santander.