NZ man and Irish wife die in suspected spa suction accident in Spain

News
World

Author: Jack Marshall,
Publish Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2026, 3:21pm

A New Zealand man and his Irish wife are believed to have died from cardiac arrest after becoming trapped in a spa pool’s suction system while on holiday in Spain.

Patrick, 48, and Thomasina Tobin, 51, were found dead at a property in Cullera, near Valencia, on Tuesday, August 25.

Spanish newspaper Las Provincias reported that preliminary autopsy findings indicated both died after experiencing cardiac arrest during an apparent accident involving an outdoor spa.

The couple, who lived in London and had two teenage children, had rented a luxury property in Cullera’s Cap Blanc residential area, near Valencia, for a two-week family holiday.

The children – who have special needs – discovered their deceased parents naked and outside of the pool, the newspaper reported.

El Pais reported that investigators initially considered the possibility of foul play after scratches and other marks were found on the couple’s bodies. But a double homicide has since been ruled out, with investigators instead focusing on whether a fault in the spa’s drainage and suction equipment trapped the pair.

Thomasina (pictured) and Patrick Tobin are suspected of dying from cardiac arrest after an accident in a spa. Photo / Thomasina Tobin

Investigators now believe the hydro-massage system may have created a powerful vacuum that prevented the couple from freeing themselves, Las Provincias reported.

The preliminary theory is that their attempts to escape caused acute stress and extreme physical exhaustion, resulting in cardiac arrest.

Injuries found during the autopsies were considered consistent with the pair struggling against the suction and trying to help one another, rather than being assaulted by another person, according to the newspaper.

The investigation has now turned to the spa’s mechanical condition and safety equipment.

Officers have carried out a third inspection of the spa, accompanied by an industrial specialist appointed at the request of the judge overseeing the case.

Investigators will examine whether the spa had appropriate anti-entrapment equipment, including a system capable of releasing the vacuum in an emergency.

Although the autopsy findings support accidental entrapment as the main theory, a definite cause of death has not been confirmed.

Water samples have been sent by Valencia’s Institute of Legal Medicine to the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences in Barcelona, according to Las Provincias.

The tests will help determine whether any substance in the water may have impaired the couple’s ability to escape.

Investigators are also considering a separate possibility involving an electrical fault.

Under that theory, one of the victims may have received a fatal electric shock while touching the defective spa or attempting to switch off its motor. The other may then have died while trying to assist.