Former British wrestling champion Jimmy Breaks, 80, arrested for 'beating his ex-partner, 47, to death'

Former wrestling champion Jimmy Breaks has been photographed in handcuffs after he was arrested in Gran Canaria over the death of his ex-partner. Donna Cowley, 47, died after allegedly being beaten to death at her home on the Spanish island on Friday. Now Breaks, 80, has been seen with his hands bound as police ushered him into a cell.   The one-time professional wrestler and TV star from Bradford, West Yorkshire is being investigated on suspicion of murder. But the results of a post-mortem on Donna Cowley, due to take place over the weekend, will determine whether the judicial probe proceeds on that basis. 

He is also being held on suspicion of an offence of undermining the authority of the law - following what Guardia Civil officers describe as an act of 'active resistance' after he was taken into custody. He has not yet been charged with any crime, as is normal in Spain where charges are only laid shortly before trial.  The assault believed to have resulted in her death is said to have occurred just after midnight in the early hours of Friday morning at an apartment in the holiday resort of Puerto Rico in the south of Gran Canaria. Ms Cowley died in an island hospital later the same day.
Regional governors expressed their horror at what had happened and said their thoughts were with Donna's family.  Breaks won the Northern Featherweight Championship after entering the amateur wrestling ranks before being trained for the professional ring by talented wrestler Bernard Murray. He won the British Lightweight championship against Melwyn Rees in October 1963, holding the title until February 15, 1967. He then went on to win the belt a further nine times before losing it for the final time against Steve Grey on March 22, 1984. He was a regular on TV when televised wrestling reached record audiences.
Donna Cowley was found in the early hours of Friday morning at 12.45am in an apartment in the Bahía Azul complex in Mogán, believed to be where she was living. It is being reported that she had received 'several blows' in an incident which is suspected of being a case of domestic violence.  Police called in emergency medics who took Ms Cowley to a health centre in Arguineguín and then on to the University Hospital of Gran Canaria, where doctors were unable to save her when she went into cardiac arrest, DailyMail reports.