An argument appears to have sparked the double slaying of a British couple in Alicante Province last March, with a 63-year-old Moroccan man(initials of D.D) confessing before a Dénia judge, Javier Reyes, last Saturday. David Tarsey and his wife Jean, both 77, were each killed with a single bullet to the head at their villa at Jalon and were discovered in each other’s arms on their sofa. The killer covered their bodies, which were in an embrace, with a green raincoat and fled. The authorities said at the time that they appeared to have been shot with a small calibre weapon, with no sign of a break in. A television had been taken, whilst a laptop computer was discovered in the swimming pool. The Moroccan knew the Tarsleys well and had done some gardening for them. He was also known locally as a sculptor and painter. He admitted that he shot Mr.Tarsley firstly in the neck, after having a row with him and then fired at Mrs.Tarsley in the face. No reason was given as to why D.D. apparently snapped and what the argument was over.
The Moroccan appeared, wearing a dark suit, shirt and tie, at a behind-closed-doors hearing in front of the judge in charge of the police investigation on Saturday morning. As part of the hearing, the suspect was taken to the couple’s home with the judge, while handcuffed and escorted by two Guardia Civil officers. The authorities are said to have found a gun at the caravan where he had lived for many years and he was arrested there last Thursday (September 10th).
David Tarsey competed as a diver for Great Britain at the Melbourne Summer Olympics in 1956 and for England at two Commonwealth Games. The couple had been living in Spain for about 20 years, but had been trying to sell their villa at the time of their deaths. They were discovered by friends who had become concerned that they had not been seen for several days. A family friend said Mr Tarsey had befriended a Moroccan man who lived nearby in a caravan not long before the couple were murdered. “David stood up for the man when a local bar owner refused to serve him because he was from north Africa”, the friend said.
The friend added: “The bar owner tried to throw the guy out but David insisted he be allowed to stay. He bought the Moroccan guy a beer and insisted the bar owner serve him. Later the man went to the Tarseys’ house and David paid him to do some work in the garden. But if it’s the same man, why on earth would he kill David and Jean? It doesn’t make any sense.”
