Gang-rape victim, 25, dies by euthanasia after father’s legal challenge fails

Noelia Castillo Ramos was raped on two occasions, once by her ex-boyfriend and the other by three boys in 2022. She then tried to end her life.

Image:Noelia Castillo Ramos during her only interview, given to Spanish TV. Pic: Antena 3/Y Ahora Sonsoles

A paraplegic gang-rape victim has died by euthanasia after her father’s failed legal challenge.

Warning: This article contains distressing content.

Noelia Castillo Ramos, 25, said she was raped on two occasions, once by her ex-boyfriend and the second time by three boys in 2022, describing this as a turning point in her life.

She jumped from the fifth-floor window of an apartment building in a cocaine-fuelled attempt to end her own life in October 2022 after previously overdosing on medication, according to legal rulings.

The fall left her paralysed from the waist down, and she was suffering severe, chronic and incapacitating pain with no possibility of improvement, her medical reports show.

Noelia, from Barcelona, Spain, died by euthanasia on Thursday evening, the hospital confirmed.

It followed a long legal battle with her father, which ended with a ruling in her favour from the European Court of Human Rights.

“I want to go now in peace and stop suffering, period,” Noelia had told Spanish TV programme Y Ahora Sonsoles in her only interview, recorded at her maternal grandmother’s house.

Image:Spain legalised euthanasia in 2021, despite protests. One pictured in March that year. Pic: Reuters

Noelia, who was living in a Barcelona care home, said she had been “very clear” about her wish to die from the beginning.

“None of my family is in favour of euthanasia. But what about all the pain I’ve suffered during all these years,” she said.

“The happiness of a father, a mother, or a sister cannot be more important than the life of a daughter.”

She said she “always felt alone” and “saw my world as very dark”, even before requesting euthanasia. She added that she doesn’t feel like “doing anything”, has back and leg pain and said sleeping was “very difficult”.

Her mother, Yolanda ‘Yoli’ Ramos, told the Spanish broadcaster that she hoped her daughter would change her mind, and would be by her side “until the very end”.

‘I want to die alone’

Noelia said she wanted to “die looking pretty, I want to die beautiful”, adding that she would wear her prettiest dress and put on some makeup.

She said that while she had invited her family to say goodbye, she wanted to be alone in her bedroom at the care facility at the moment of her death.

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She intended to have four photos with her for her death: one of her painting a portrait of her mother, one of her childhood puppy, another from her first day of school and a fourth from her childhood, which she said are reflecting “happy” moments in her life.

Noelia had been in psychiatric treatment since she was 13 and her parents separated. She was eventually diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD).

Her father witnessed her attempt to take her own life in October 2022.

“My father saw me fall and couldn’t do anything. But after everything he’s done, I don’t feel sorry for him anymore,” she told Y Ahora Sonsoles, referencing his legal challenge to stop her euthanasia.

“He hasn’t respected my decision and he never will.”

Legalised euthanasia and assisted suicide in Spain

In 2021, Spain became the fourth European Union country to legalise euthanasia and assisted suicide for people with incurable or severely debilitating conditions.

The law was passed despite years of strong opposition from Catholic and conservative groups in the country.

However, an opinion poll in 2019 found 90% of Spaniards were in favour of decriminalisation.

To qualify, patients must first make two requests in writing – 15 days apart – followed by consultations with medical professionals not previously involved in their care.

If approved, those wanting to end their lives must then submit another request to a regional committee of experts who then make a final decision.

Under the law, medical workers can refuse to participate on grounds of belief.

Noelia’s euthanasia request was initially granted by a specialised expert committee in Catalonia in July 2024, with the procedure scheduled for 2 August 2024, but her father has blocked it ever since.

Geronimo Castillo, supported by the ultra-conservative advocacy group Abogados Cristianos or Christian Lawyers, argued that Noelia’s mental illness impaired her ability to decide to end her life.

During a nearly two-year-long legal battle, he took the case through Spain’s courts, finally reaching Spain’s highest tribunal, the Constitutional Court, in February. The court rejected his argument, ruling that there had been no violation of fundamental rights.

Image:An anti-euthanasia protester in 2021 with a sign saying: ‘Killing is not progressive. Stop euthanasia’. File pic: Reuters

As the final instance, Mr Castillo took the case to the European Court of Human Rights, where his request for interim measures to stop Noelia’s euthanasia was rejected on 10 March, according to newspaper El Pais.

As a last-ditch effort, his legal team on Wednesday asked an investigating court looking into Noelia’s medical-legal team to introduce “urgent precautionary measures” to stop her euthanasia, but a judge rejected the request due to lack of jurisdiction.

“I’ve finally done it,” Noelia said, adding: “Let’s see if I can finally rest”.

According to several sources, Noelia Castillo Ramos’s euthanasia was scheduled for 5pm Spanish time (4pm UK time).