Investigators believe the 42-year-old Paraguayan woman was shot with a pistol by one of her clients, a 76-year-old Spaniard who then turned the gun on himself.

The motive for the killing, which occurred on October 8th in a quiet neighbourhood, has not been explained.

The cleaning lady sent money to her four children, two in Paraguay and two in Spain, from her earnings in Geneva, according to local media reports.

Her eldest son, a 24-year-old man living in Valencia, Spain, had sought to repatriate his mother’s body to Paraguay but the family did not have the financial means, 20 Minutes reported.

The newspaper cited information from an independent Latin American journalist Laila Rodriquez, who is based in Geneva.

Robert Assaël, lawyer for the victim’s family, said he received the 10,000 francs from Veyrier authorities on Tuesday.

Assaël called the action of the municipality “rare and remarkable”, the Tribune de Genève newspaper reported online.

“I pledged to take steps later to obtain money from the family of the murderer, the Paraguay embassy or (a federal fund) to help the victims of crimes,” he told the newspaper.

The tragedy shocked the entire municipality, executive municipal councillor Thomas Barth told the Tribune.

“We believed, in these exceptional circumstances, that it was our responsibility to come to the aid of the family,” Barth said.

The municipality hopes that the embassy, “among others”, will ensure the money is paid back.

In another twist in the case, the Tribune reported that the Spanish gunman had told his family the night before the shootings that he planned to put an end to his life.

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