Why does a father kill his children? Last week no other subject commanded Mallorcans' attention as much as German radiologist Rüdeger Oyntzen's murder of his two children, Katharina and Matthias, eight and six years old. First they spent two weeks of vacation at the Club Royal Mediterráneo of Sa Coma, then came the lethal injection of poison on the last night of their stay on the island, the solitary flight to the mountains of Cap Formentor, and the arrest, which prevented, probably at the last moment, the suicide of the perpetrator of the deed. The Mallorcan press has reported with a certain irritation on the forty somber pages of the farewell letter Oyntzen left behind in the hotel, on his apparent serenity and calmness, even the lack of remorse shown by the doctor at the moment of his arrest. And on the frustrated attempt of the children's mother, Helga Reichel, divorced from Oyntzen a year ago, to keep their father from making this trip with his son and daughter. Sometimes one almost has the impression that this great interest of the local press is based on wanting to uncover the cracks in an image of the German customer who has no - economic- problems, taking as a pretext a family tragedy and its psychological abysses.
Meanwhile, Oyntzen remains interned in the Psychiatric Hospital of Palma for the severe depression he is suffering and to avoid his possibly committing suicide. The indictment charges Oyntzen with a double murder, which offense is punished in Spain with a minimum of 50 years in prison.

Last Saturday famed polo ace, veteran of the Gulf War, and ex-royal lover James Hewitt landed at the airport. While this led some paparazzi to go after the last big exclusive of the summer, placing themselves strategically in front of the Hotel Residencia (where Lady Di spent a lively weekend in June), the "most unpopular man in Great Britain", according to the results of a survey by the London-based sensationalist daily The Sun, chose to take refuge in a private estate in the Port of Andratx. What could have been the great weekend of a reencounter with his ex-lover, now free of any matrimonial commitment, was finally revealed as something rather more tedious, that is, tennis games in the company of friends. The skies over Mallorca have cried in the British way ever since.

Scares, bad luck, and breakdowns a few ingredients that can exhaust even the patience of a king, as is the case of King Juan Carlos. The yacht Fortuna (see photo) has gone up for sale. After the aged boat (built in '78) failed to meet royal expectations again this summer, having to stay two weeks in dry-dock for an engine breakdown, the proud Borbón has decided to put it up for sale. All serious offers, of no less than US$ 2,500,000, will be well received by any local agency dealing in watercraft, the royal family in Madrid, and also msm - Media Service Mallorca (see below for postal and email addresses). We wish everyone safe passage.