A 70-YEAR-old Norwegian resident was found dead by a path in the hills behind Riviera del Sol in Mijas Costa last week with his body covered in bee stings.
The Guardia Civil were notified after a local woman discovered the deceased man with his t-shirt over his head. According to sources, the Guardia Civil’s Seprona environmental protection officers found clear signs that the man’s death had resulted from the bee stings.
Subsequent investigations led to local bee farm containing 150 beehives and based only 400 metres away from where the body was found after post-mortem results showed that the Norwegian victim had deadly levels of venom in his blood.
Officers, trying to piece together exactly what happened, believe that the man was first stung at the farm before attempting to flee a swarm and eventually collapsing by the path. Sources said that the man, well-known in the Norwegian community, had gone for walk in just shorts and t-shirt on the Wednesday, the day he was last seen alive. The woman, who was out walking her dog, found his body the next day.
The opening stages of the post-mortem, carried out by forensic scientists in Malaga, suggested the victim died of anaphylactic shock after deadly levels of bee venom were found in his bloodstream.