Mother speaks out after two young girls ‘dumped in sea by vengeful ex-partner’

Search team found the body of the six-year-old at a depth of 1000 metres off the coast of Tenerife

A search team found the body of six-year-old Olivia Jimeno Zimmermann at a depth of 1000 metres off the coast of Tenerife in Spain. The girl and her sister Anna, aged one, disappeared on 27 April, the same day their father, Tomás Gimeno, 37, was supposed to hand them over to his ex-wife, Beatrice Zimmermann, after spending the afternoon with them (El Mundo)

The mother of two girls, aged six and one, who were allegedly kidnapped by their father has thanked the public for their unflinching support in an anguished letter she posted on her social media account.

The older daughter’s body was found on 10 June in a bag dumped in the sea. Another empty bag — weighted down by an anchor — was found thousands of feet below the water’s surface off Tenerife in Spain.

Euro News said the search for the one-year-old girl is still ongoing, however their mother Beatriz Zimmermann said the death of her two daughters will not be in vain.

She wrote in a letter to the public that Anna and Olivia “are now two angels... teaching a great lesson at the cost of their lives.” She added that she will “fight against these injustices and [for] the welfare of children.”

The girls’ father Tomás Gimeno, 37, allegedly kidnapped and murdered the girls in a crime that has shocked Spain. He had vanished with six-year-old Olivia and one-year-old Anna on 27 April and had left behind a message for that mother, that she would never see them alive again.

After the discovery of six-year-old Olivia's body, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had said: “I cannot imagine the pain of Anna and Olivia’s mother, who went missing in Tenerife, because of the terrible news we just heard.”

The murder of the two girls has even captured the attention of the royal family. Queen Letizia of Spain said on Friday: “I don’t think there is anyone this morning who is not trying to put themselves in the shoes of the people who love these murdered girls.”

Olivia’s girl’s body was found in a suitcase, tied to the missing anchor of her father’s ship.

Irene Montero, Spain’s equality minister also tweeted her condolences with the hashtag #Nomasviolenciavicaria — a reference to abusers harming children as a means to cause their parents pain.

Meanwhile, a judge has issued an arrest warrant for Mr Gimeno whose whereabouts are unknown at this point. His boat was found drifting off near Puertito de Güímar, south of Tenerife, the local reports said.

The letter by Ms Zimmermann was accompanied by a photo of Anna and Olivia. She wrote poignantly: “Anna and Olivia were full of love, every day I told them every moment that I loved them very much… I told Olivia; Olí I have a problem, she answered me; Yes, mommy, I know ... that you love me too much.”

In the letter, she thanked the public for its support and called the murder of her girls “the most monstrous act that a person can commit” and said that she wished she had died with them. But, she pointed out, “that couldn’t be because Tomás wanted me to suffer searching for them without rest.” She added: “That was the reason why he left me alive.”

Ms Zimmermann has said that Mr Gimeno, who was her ex, wanted to take revenge because she had got a new boyfriend after they parted ways. She wrote that she hopes that “the laws get tougher protecting children.”