By JAMES FIELDING, SENIOR REPORTER and GERARD COUZENS
Published: 00:01 BST, 3 September 2026 | Updated: 09:01 BST, 3 September 2026
This is the man found dead with his wife after they were feared to have become trapped in a hot tub while on holiday in Spain.
Patrick Tobin, 48, and his wife, London-based quantity surveyor Thomasina, 51, were discovered in the spa tub, which may have suffered from malfunctioning suction pumps.
It is the centrepiece of a 'ground-floor oasis' feature at the Spanish villa the couple rented for a family holiday.
The bodies of Mr and Mrs Tobin were discovered on Tuesday last week by their children – aged 16 and 14 – at the exclusive Villa Luna, a three-bed property on a gated complex, thought to cost £2,000 per week to rent.
It forms part of the Cap Blanc residential estate in Cullera, 25 miles south of Valencia. Luna is one of three luxury properties run by the Colina del Sol.
Pictured for the first time is the heated hot tub and jacuzzi their bodies were recovered from.
It has a TV on one side, with panoramic views over the Mediterranean through full-length windows on the other.
Investigating officers believe the pair were victims of a rare phenomenon called 'suction entrapment', which occurs when a powerful vacuum pull from a hot tub or swimming pool drain traps a person's body, hair, or clothing underwater.
Post-mortem examinations conducted on Mrs Tobin, from Co Monaghan in Ireland, and Mr Tobin, originally from New Zealand, found marks and scratches on both bodies as well as blood in the cloudy water of the hot tub and a strong chemical smell.
Patrick Tobin, 48, originally from New Zealand, worked in the tech industry in London
This is the luxury hot tub where a successful London-based couple died while on holiday at the £2,000-a-week Spanish villa where they were staying with their teenage children
Police investigating their deaths fear the couple had suffered 'suction entrapment', when a powerful vacuum pull from a hot tub drain traps a person's body, hair or clothing underwater
Foul play has been ruled out as there were no signs of forced entry nor was any suspicious activity detected on nearby CCTV cameras.
