The Sevillian actress and singer Encarnita Polo died in the night between Thursday and Friday at the age of 86 in the Ávila residence where she was hospitalized. According to initial indications, she had been strangled. The alleged perpetrator, a 66-year-old man who also lived in the centre, is in police custody in a hospital psychiatric centre, as sources from the government sub-delegation confirmed to EL PAÍS.
The man had so far shown no signs of aggression in the home and will remain in police custody until his condition allows him to be brought to justice. In the early hours between Thursday and Friday, according to police sources, the man entered the room occupied by Polo and stood on top of her to suffocate her. Alerted by the noises, two guards went into the room and found the man on top of the victim, who they tried to resuscitate without success after getting him out of bed. When questioned by the Junta de Castilla y León about the Decanos de Ávila residence, where they both lived, she replied that she could not provide information, as it was a weekend.
The Police reported this Friday that a death had occurred in a home being investigated by the Provincial Judicial Police Brigade. Sources close to the investigation indicated that the deceased was Encarnita Polo and that it was another resident who attacked her, resulting in her death by strangulation.
Encarnita Polo was born in Seville on January 22, 1939 into a large family, but grew up in Barcelona, where her mother moved after her father’s death. There he began in the world of singing with the help of the dancer Antonio Marín. He was one of the most important figures of pop and cop music of the sixties and seventies and triumphed with his famous song Paco, Paco, Paco.
His daughter, Raquel Waitzman Polo, informed her acquaintances of the death and asked for respect and privacy for the family in these delicate moments. “With immense pain I want to inform you that my mother, Encarnita Polo, died in Ávila, the city where we live and where she spent her last years surrounded by love”, is the message that Waitzman sent to his loved ones. And he added: “for many she was an unforgettable singer and actress, a pioneer of flamenco-pop whose voice and personality marked several generations. But for me she was above all my mother: a strong, funny woman, with a unique character”.
In the same message, Polo’s daughter asked for respect and confidentiality on the part of the family and specified that she will not make public statements or give interviews: “I need to experience this mourning in silence and in peace, close to those who loved her”. In her final years, Encarnita Polo lived away from the media and was treated for cancer. Sources close to the family said Polo will be buried in Ávila after his wake.
