AN 84-year-old man killed his wife and then committed suicide in their home in Madrid on Saturday.

National Police were called out by the couple’s children, who found the bodies of their parents.

Their mother, María Dulce Castillo Luque, 80, was lying in a pool of blood with her head covered by a towel and her body with a blanket.

Her husband, Ricardo López Gómez, who hanged himself immediately afterwards, had left a crucifix on her chest.

The cause of his wife’s death is not known, but police believe she had suffered a severe blow to the head.

Officers say the family are baffled by their father’s intentions, since there had been no history of domestic violence nor problems between the couple.