Anna and Olivia, murdered in Tenerife, have forever found a place in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Their images stand beautifully and serenely in the capital as an emotional tribute.
The sculpture was designed and created by artist Julio Nieto and was donated to the city. The memorial was inaugurated on Tuesday, October 18, 2022, in the presence of the children’s mother, Beatriz Zimmermann, who expressed her gratitude to everyone involved in the search for her daughters, who were likely murdered by their father and thrown into the sea.
Disappearing without a trace
The father, Tomás Gimeno, was supposed to return the children to his ex-wife on April 27, 2021, after spending the afternoon with his daughters, in accordance with the visitation arrangement he had agreed upon with her. On the phone, he excused his delay by saying he was still eating with the girls, while in reality, he was carrying out a premeditated horrific plan. He intended to end the lives of his two daughters and throw them into the sea before disappearing without a trace. In doing so, he would control their fate and strike at his ex, leaving her in uncertainty about her little girls for the rest of her life.
Alarm Bells
Tomás and Beatriz were divorced and had an arrangement regarding the visitation and custody rights of their two daughters. On the day they disappeared, they were visiting their father and were not returned as agreed. Beatriz never thought he could harm his daughters, yet alarm bells rang.
Although the investigators’ main hypothesis from the beginning was that of murder, the family continued to hope that the girls were still alive and believed that the father had abducted them.
Search
Search operations were organized, and one and a half months later, on June 10, 2021, the crew of the ship Ángeles Alvariño, equipped with sonar and the underwater robot Liropus, found two sports bags attached to the anchor of their father’s boat. Inside one bag was the lifeless body of Olivia, the eldest of the sisters, six years old. The other bag was empty and presumably contained the body of her sister, Anna, barely one year old.
On June 30, the search by the Ángeles Alvariño ended without finding the body of Anna or the father and perpetrator of the double murder, Tomás Gimeno.
Touching Memorial
The creator of the sculpture, Julio Nieto, emotionally stated that it has been a difficult task, both morally and physically, to which he has devoted himself entirely. He tried to capture a happy expression of sisters Anna and Olivia, lightly touching each other’s hands. The sculpture exudes childish innocence in a playful, almost poignant gesture. The creation of this spot was made possible by the Fundación Diario de Avisos.
Diario de Avisos © Photography
Anna and Olivia murdered in Tenerife ©
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