A 37-year-old man fatally stabbed in Barcelona’s Sant Andreu district last week was reportedly killed while defending his partner from her son, according to friends.

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Jahzeel Gálvez, a Peruvian national, died in hospital on Wednesday, 18th February. He was attacked the previous day in his apartment building. His 20-year-old stepson was arrested at the scene and later remanded in custody.

The tragic incident occurred on Tuesday, 17th February, on Carrer Torres i Baiges in the historic neighbourhood of Sant Andreu de Palomar. Reports indicate a heated argument began inside the family’s home, then spilled into a common area of the building. There, Gálvez was stabbed multiple times.

Surprisingly, the alleged attacker himself called the 112 emergency number to report the assault. Officers from the Mossos d’Esquadra arrived shortly after, arresting the young man. Paramedics from the Sistema d’Emergències Mèdiques (SEM) treated Gálvez at the scene before rushing him to hospital. He was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit but succumbed to his injuries the following day.

A History of Tension

Friends of Gálvez revealed a history of persistent conflict within the household. Speaking to news outlet Metrópoli, they explained the relationship between Gálvez and his stepson was fraught with tension.

“He had been telling us for a while that he had problems with the boy because he spoke very badly to his mother,” one acquaintance detailed. “He would swear at her, and Jahzeel would step in to defend her.”

The situation reportedly became so strained that friends advised Gálvez to end his relationship with his partner, a Honduran national of about 18 months. “We told him to, just to avoid problems with the young man, and look how it has all ended,” they lamented.

‘A Man with Dreams’

Those who knew Jahzeel Gálvez described him as a man striving to build a new life in Barcelona. He had arrived from Peru and was working as a delivery driver while studying digital marketing and taking Catalan classes. His goal was to regularise his residency status in Spain.

Both he and his partner were devout evangelical Christians, regularly attending their local church in the neighbourhood. Gálvez also leaves behind a son from a previous relationship, who recently moved from Peru and now lives in Madrid.

The family held a cremation service over the weekend, as his community struggles to come to terms with his violent death.

“He was a man who came for his Spanish dream, like many immigrants,” a friend told reporters. “We come here fleeing the violence in our countries, only for this to happen here. It’s unbelievable.”

Following the arrest, a Barcelona judge ordered the suspect into pre-trial detention without bail. The High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) has since confirmed the case is open for a crime of homicide.