The mother a 25-year-old Spanish woman who died by euthanasia in March following a long legal battle has filed two criminal complaints against the yet-to-be identified men who allegedly raped her daughter.
"I have decided to file a complaint against the men who caused my daughter so much harm. I am doing this because I feel that is what she wanted," said Yolanda Ramos, the mother of Noelia Castillo, in explaining her reasons for asking the public prosecutor's office to investigate two alleged rapes that appear to be at the root of her daughter's case.
"Noelia spoke about the rapes on television, and on the very day she died, she gave me her diary," Ramos said. "And when I read it, I understood many things."
In a recording released by the Spanish Foundation of Christian Lawyers, Ramos explained how an intuition led her to take the step nearly four months after her daughter was euthanized via lethal injection.
"I feel that my daughter wanted the whole truth to be known someday. That is why I decided to go to the prosecutor's office, because I cannot simply stand by and do nothing. They can't bring my daughter back, but neither do I want this to be forgotten. I am doing this for her, and also for other young women who have gone through the same thing but have not reported it," she explained.
"It's the only thing I can do for my daughter," she said, "so that she is never forgotten."
In April, Ramos called for the repeal of the euthanasia law via social media: "Please, let this law be abolished. I don't want there to be any more Noelias. I don't want this to happen again. This euthanasia law must be completely done away with."
A written record of the assaults
Working with the Spanish Foundation of Christian Lawyers, Ramos filed two complaints with the provincial prosecutor's offices of Barcelona and Tarragona. She said she hopes the two alleged rapes her daughter suffered will be investigated and those responsible brought to justice.
The foundation said the complaints show that Noelia left, in writing, the story of both sexual assaults.
Regarding the first incident, it describes how she was forced to have sexual relations by her then-romantic partner, a young Pakistani man with whom she had been in a relationship for four years.
As for the second, it details how, after meeting a waiter in Salou, she was drugged, made to consume alcohol, and raped by three men. Three days after that assault, Noelia attempted suicide by throwing herself from the fifth floor of a building. She survived but was left paraplegic. Years later, she would request euthanasia.
According to the foundation, "the events could constitute two counts of rape" under the penal code.
"The family was unable to report the incidents at the time due to a lack of sufficient evidence. However, following Noelia's death, her mother has gained access to various documents that, according to the complaint, would make it possible to identify the alleged perpetrators," the foundation stated.
Among the new evidence are handwritten entries "recounting both rapes, as well as conversations, identifying details, and other elements that would facilitate locating the alleged assailants."
Finally, the Christian Lawyers foundation pointed out that "the victim's death does not preclude criminal prosecution for these offenses" and called on the public prosecutor's office "to initiate the necessary proceedings to identify those responsible and hold them criminally accountable."
The first euthanasia case to go to court in Spain
Noelia del Castillo was euthanized on March 26. She requested the procedure in April 2024 and it was granted in August of that year. Shortly after that, her parents initiated a legal battle to preserve her life.
This was the first case to go to court in Spain since the euthanasia law came into effect on June 25, 2021. Since then, 1,688 people have died from euthanasia, according to official statistics from the Ministry of Health.
In the legal proceedings, it was requested that the procedure not be carried out, as it was determined that Noelia had not received the necessary support to address her psychiatric issues — issues highlighted by her repeated suicide attempts, one of which caused her serious injuries.
"The Constitutional Court itself makes it clear that euthanasia cannot be applied when the origin of the suffering is a mental illness, and that the state has the obligation to protect these people against the risk of suicide," Christian Lawyers explained to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, in March.
Separately, a complaint was filed against the doctor and the lawyer who initially assessed Noelia's request, alleging that they "feigned disagreement in order to refer the decision to the Guarantee and Evaluation Commission and 'force' a supposedly higher level of assurance in the decision-making process," a Supreme Court ruling noted.
Furthermore, a complaint was also lodged against seven members of the Guarantee Commission for conflict of interest and against the former Minister of Health for Catalonia, Josep María Argimón, for having appointed them.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
