A 17-YEAR-OLD girl died on Monday from meningitis after being admitted to Denia Hospital with ‘symptoms compatible’ with the disease.

The cause of death was formally confirmed on Tuesday after test results.

The Marina Alta health department has activated relevant protocols for meningitis and has been tracing the teenager’s recent contacts.

DENIA HOSPITAL

All people that have had contact with her will be supplied with chemoprophylaxis, an antibiotic to prevent them from being sick from bacterial meningitis.

Meningitis is mainly spread through respiratory secretions like via coughing, sneezing or kissing.

The young victim lived in Benissa and was a big basketball fan.

She went to Valencia’s Roig Arena on Saturday to watch a game with some of her school friends.

The girl was already starting to feel unwell but put down the symptoms to having a cold.

She had a bad night and woke up on Sunday with spots on her face.

The teenager initially went to the Benissa Health Centre before being transferred by ambulance to Denia Hospital’s ICU.

She died at around midday on Monday.

People who knew her described the girl as ‘cheerful and affectionate’.
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A BRITISH suspect is behind bars over the execution of a Czech man linked to the Costa Blanca murder of John George.

The 40-year-old expat from Torre Pacheco in Murcia was detained last week at the region’s Corvera Airport, as he was set to leave Spain.

He has been remanded in custody as part of an ongoing homicide investigation.

John George murder suspect is shot dead in the middle of a Costa Blanca street

Corvera Airport

The unnamed Brit is accused of murdering the 33-year-old Czech national, Michael Maly who was gunned down in a Torrevieja street in early March.

Maly was under investigation for his involvement in the killing of Northern Irishman John George, and has been on bail since early 2025. 

George’s body was discovered on a lemon farm in Rojales in January 2025.

Sources close to the investigation say the Czech victim had given testimony linking key suspect, Jonny Smyth, and had reportedly received death threats before he was killed.

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Jonny Smyth

Smyth- from County Antrim- was arrested for the murder in Portugal last March and released from custody by a Torrevieja court on a €100,000 bond in December.

Investigators are examining whether Maly was murdered to prevent him from testifying in the case.

The Guardia Civil reportedly found John George’s blood on licence plates seized from Maly’s car.

He had told police that his only connection to what happened was a friendship that he had struck up with Jonny Smyth.

Smyth and his OnlyFans model wife Madison were arrested in the Moralet area of Alicante last week for the illegal possession of weapons.

Police pulled over the couple in their van, with Jonny Smyth reportedly brandishing a pistol at officers.

Two pistols and a sawn-off shotgun were removed and the duo were granted bail by a judge.

It was Madison’s third arrest in seven months.

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