Credit: Netflix

Unprotected: Murder in Galicia on Netflix recounts an over-a-decade-old crime: the 2015 murder case of Isabel Fuentes, whose killer attacked her in her home and left her in a near-death state before striking back 37 days later to finish what he started.

Directed by Jorge Laplace, the true-crime documentary spotlights one of Spain’s most shocking true-crime cases, examining the chain of events through a critical lens to highlight how systemic oversight and police failure led to an unimaginable loss of life.

Unprotected: Murder in Galicia chronicles the Isabel Fuentes case, a 65-year-old woman who was found brutally attacked in her home in the small village of Pazos in Verín, Galicia. According to the Guardia Civil’s interrogation of her husband, Aniceto Rodríguez, the attack was a burglary gone horribly wrong, which left Isabel with severe head injuries.

Subsequently, she was rushed to the university hospital complex in Ourense, where Isabel spent three weeks in the intensive care unit after taking several blows to the head with a hammer (via woman&home). Isabel was eventually transferred to a regular ward where Aniceto reportedly visited her daily, showcasing behaviour nothing out of character.

While the investigation intensified around Isabel’s attack, authorities started to question the robbery story, having found no evidence of significance that suggested forced entry into their house. A hammer was also recovered from their home, covered in her blood. However, the forensic evidence tying it to the perpetrator was negligible.

Additionally, Aniceto claimed that he was unaware of the attack, as he was asleep in a different room. But investigators retrieved his blood-covered dressing gown, which suggested otherwise. The lack of consistency in his statements and loopholes in his account also gave him away in a manner. However, as investigating officials tried to obtain an order to keep Aniceto away from Isabel during the period of suspicion, a judge rejected the plea, citing a lack of evidence against him.

Although further attempts were made to ensure heightened safety measures for Isabel, the legalities didn’t favour her case as the incident fell under the act of “robbery with violence” instead of a suspected case of domestic abuse. She was found brutally murdered with several stab wounds in her hospital bed on May 8th, 2015.

According to Aniceto’s statements, he also had serious knife injuries, and the attackers from the initial attack returned to kill his wife. However, police refused to believe his story, ultimately leading to his confession of trying to bludgeon his wife to death with a hammer back at their home. He killed her to prevent himself from being caught when he attacked Isabel a second time during her recovery.

In July 2017, Aniceto Rodríguez was convicted of attempted murder and consummated murder, and received a 31-year prison sentence at A Lama prison in Pontevedra, Spain. During incarceration, he fell severely ill and suffered a stroke before dying in his prison infirmary on September 21st, 2018, aged 78.