Bodybuilder dubbed ‘She Hulk' beaten to death with hammer at her Costa del Sol home as muscleman husband also found dead
Colombian bodybuilding champion Zunilda Hoyos Mendez was found dead yesterday afternoon after detectives went to the property.
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Colombian bodybuilding champion Zunilda Hoyos Mendez was found dead yesterday afternoon
Credit: Solarpix
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Zunilda, who called herself Amy, had been missing since Saturday
Credit: Solarpix
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She finished second in the NPC Worldwide Latin American Championships in 2021
Credit: Solarpix
Her partner's body was found in a bathroom with what police have described as "apparent self-inflicted stab wounds."
He has been named as 46-year-old Jarrod Gelling.
Zunilda, who called herself Amy, had been missing since Saturday after flying to the Costa del Sol from Dubai.
Her relatives described Jarrod overnight as "aggressive" and said they believe he could have lashed out after she told him she wanted a divorce.
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Zunilda's niece Yuleydis told Malaga-based newspaper Sur her aunt was going to help Jarrod following a knee operation before travelling to Portugal to compete and then going back to Colombia alone after taking the divorce decision.
She said: "For my aunt it was the last trip, a goodbye.
"She had taken the decision to split from her husband because of his aggressive behaviour.
"They had broken up already once and were apart for quite a while but then got back together again to try to resolve things, although the mistreatment continued."
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The couple's bodies were found just before 2pm yesterday inside a property on a residential estate.
Zunilda's gym companion raised the alarm saying he hadn't seen her since June 14.
A National Police spokesman in Malaga said: "The National Police is investigating the death of a man and woman found lifeless at a property in Fuengirola.
"In the absence of official identification of the bodies, initial inquiries are pointing to them being those of a 43-year-old woman of Colombian origin and her 46-year-old partner of American origin.
"Officers went to the property on a residential estate about 1.45pm after a friend of the woman whose body was found reported her disappearance on Wednesday at the National Police Station in Torremolinos.
"Her body showed obvious signs of violence and that of the man's signs indicating a suicide-type death which is something an autopsy will have to confirm."
The suspected killer is believed to have Colombian and US nationality.
If the woman's death is confirmed as a gender violence murder, it would be the third so far in the province of Malaga and the fifth in Southern Spain's Andalucia region.
Spanish news website El Espanol has reported that Zunilda also had more than 100,000 followers on OnlyFans and Fansly.
She finished second in the NPC Worldwide Latin American Championships in 2021.
Her coach Branden Rey said in an emotional Instagram post: "We had 17 days until we were going to hit the stage and shock the world my friend.
"I told you that you could possibly be top 10 in the world by the end of this year and I meant it.
"Rest in paradise Amy."
Bodybuilder friend and coach Behnaz Azar said in an online tribute: "I don't know where to begin.
"My heart is broken, my mind is clouded, and my soul is drowning in shock and sorrow.
"Amy - my kind, strong, fierce friend.
"The most powerful woman I knew in the world of bodybuilding, yet with the gentlest heart."
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Zunilda's niece Yuleydis told Malaga-based newspaper Sur her aunt was going to help Jarrod following a knee operation
Credit: Solarpix
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If the woman's death is confirmed as a gender violence murder, it would be the third so far in the province of Malaga
Credit: Solarpix
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The Irish Sun
5 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
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Most read in Fabulous But that dream life ended on July 22 last year, the day Sandra received a call from one of Brett's friends in Spain who had found his body in his villa. 'I couldn't believe what I was hearing,' she says. Tributes Pour In for Father-of-Three Who Tragically Died in Benidorm 'My world caved in, I was in utter disbelief and I'm still in shock today.' In a daze, Sandra, a carer, 56, and her husband and Brett's stepdad Rob flew to Spain that day. One of the friends who found Brett claimed he'd overheard the Spanish police known as the Guardia Civil saying they believed Brett had been struck in the head with an axe. However, the friends had been allowed to walk through the villa several times, which was potentially a murder scene. A post-mortem was performed the following day. It concluded Brett died of a pulmonary embolism, caused by a blood clot in his lungs. The case was closed. 'They said it was a terrible accident. He fell and banged his head,' Sandra explains. 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