The mother of Noelia Castillo, the young Spanish woman who last March was euthanized after a long lengthy battle with her father, has filed two criminal complaints against the alleged rapes Castillo suffered before her attempted suicide which left her paraplegic.

Yolanda Ramos filed one criminal complaint in Tarragona and another in Barcelona asking for the perpetrators to be brought to justice following the discovery of more evidence after Castillo’s death. 

Ramos’ complaints involve handwritten statements from Castillo herself, which have been discovered recently. 

The first attack was allegedly carried out by a Pakistani man with whom Castillo had a four-year relationship. The second allegedly occurred in Salou, where Castillo recounted being drugged by a waiter before being raped by three men. 

Three days after the second attack, Castillo attempted suicide by jumping off a balcony which left her paraplegic.

Castillo cited her condition as one of the reasons for seeking euthanasia. 

The family say that they weren’t able to file a complaint before because they had a lack of evidence, but following Castillo’s death they have come into a number of documents leading them to believe the police could identify the alleged attackers.

In a message released by the Christian Lawyers Foundation, who are helping Ramos, the mother said she has taken this action as “it’s the only thing I can do for my daughter” to ensure “that she is never forgotten.”

“I feel that my daughter wanted the whole truth to come out someday. That’s why I decided to go to the Prosecutor’s Office, because I can’t just stand idly by. They’re not going to bring my daughter back, but I also don’t want all of this to be forgotten,” Ramos said.

“I’m doing it for her and also for other girls who have gone through the same thing and don’t report it,” she added.

Christian Lawyers explained in a statement that “it was Noelia herself who wrote down the account of both sexual assaults.”

“The family was unable to report the events at the time due to a lack of sufficient evidence. However, following Noelia’s death, her mother has been able to access various documents that, according to the complaint, would allow the alleged perpetrators to be identified,” the statement added.

According to the organization, this evidence includes “manuscript from Noelia herself recounting both rapes, as well as conversations, identification data and other elements that would facilitate the location of the alleged aggressors.”

In April, Ramos said on social media that she wants the euthanasia law to be repealed.

“Please, let this law disappear. I don’t want any more Noelias. I don’t want this to happen again. This euthanasia law has to disappear completely,” she said.

Castillo’s case

Castillo’s death last March sparked major controversy in Spain and elsewhere, and her father had tried to use legal means to stop the euthanasia for nearly two years.

The Spanish bishops also waded into the debate, and Archbishop Joan Planellas of Tarragona, who is president of the Conferencia Episcopal Tarraconense – a Catalonian regional bishops’ assembly established in 1969 – told Crux Now it was “a very sad situation.”

Bishop José Mazuelos of the Canary Islands, and president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference’s Subcommittee for the Family and the Defense of Life, said it was “barbaric that, when faced with a vulnerable person, the middle ground is chosen: Eliminating them and applying euthanasia.”

After her failed suicide attempt in 2022, Castillo was granted approval for euthanasia in July 2024 by the Guarantee and Evaluation Commission of Catalonia.

Her father immediately attempted to prevent his daughter’s suicide and continued his efforts until he had exhausted all legal options both in Spain and at the EU.

He eventually took the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which rejected his efforts to stop the euthanasia, though the court said judges would analyze the case at a later date.