{
  "id": 345149,
  "title": "The farewell to Laura Cruz: “She killed her because she was happy”",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/09/la-despedida-a-laura-cruz-la-mato-porque-era-feliz",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-09T03:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "El Pais",
    "slug": "el-pais",
    "url": "https://elpais.com/sociedad/2026-08-09/asesinato-machista-en-la-casa-cuartel.html"
  },
  "original_language": "es",
  "account": "At exactly twelve noon on this Friday, a corridor of green shirts and tricorn hats stood at attention before Laura's coffin. 66 agents, nine of them women, stood firm with their hand at their temple as they followed the slow path of the wooden box towards the church to bid farewell to their colleague who, just a year ago, had gone to file the last complaint she would ever make against the man who had exercised violence against her for years, Dámaso Fernández, now a former guard, her ex-partner and the father of her son who is turning 19 this year, and her two 13-year-old twin daughters. On that day, August 5, 2025, at 11:47 in the morning, Laura told the agents who took her statement: \"I must clarify why I am so afraid of Dámaso, he doesn't care who he has to take out of the way\". Months later, she warned again that she was in danger and asked them to reactivate the anti-abuser bracelet she had worn, saying she knew he wouldn't stop until he destroyed her. The Justice system denied her that device on December 19, 2025, because they saw no elements of \"objective risk\". And this Wednesday, August 5, 2026, Dámaso killed her.",
  "summary": "The civil guard's funeral was on Friday, two days after she was killed by Dámaso Fernández, her ex-partner, after years of complaints, appeals and coercion. Her burial shows a large part of who that beloved woman was, always protected by those around her.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "El Pais",
        "title": "María Eugenia Prendes: “Laura Cruz had said she knew she wasn't going to stop until she killed her. That's such a definitive thing that it has to be the first thing we have in our heads.”",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/09/maria-eugenia-prendes-laura-cruz-habia-dicho-que-sabia-que-no-iba-a",
        "published": "2026-08-09T03:30:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}