Inside commune run by Brit who ‘came into money’ near where man was stabbed to death in ‘Blue Whale suicide game row’

THIS is the off-grid commune run by a Brit that went from being a peaceful woodland getaway to the background of an alleged stabbing death over a warped suicide game.

It comes after a man was killed allegedly during a row while a group of friends played the sick Blue Whale suicide challenge in remote woods in central Portugal.

Xavier Hancock owns self-styled Libelinha Venture, in Figueiró Dos Vinhos with his Spanish partner Arantxa Atauri.

The public school-educated businessman is believed to have unknowingly hosted the group of UK visitors that included both the suspect and the 35-year-old stabbed to death.

The alleged killing reportedly took place in woodland near Xavier’s land in the early hours of Sunday.

The precise location for the alleged crime has not yet been confirmed.

There is no suggestion whatsoever Xavier or his partner are in any way involved in the crime but the forest retreat owner made sure to confirm that he is “cooperating fully” with police.

“As this is an active investigation, I will only answer questions from the authorities who we are cooperating with fully,” Xavier told local media on Tuesday.

“Once the official evidence has been released, I would consider sharing the story.”

Nature-lover Xavier was educated at a public school in Oxford and looks after his land with the help of volunteers from the UK he puts up in Sioux Indian-style tepees and tents.

The Brit, who describes himself as a digital creator on social media, has spoken about “falling in love” with the forest valley near the picturesque village of Figueró dos Vinhos where he and his partner created their off-grid community.

Xavier has organised fundraising campaigns online to plant over 6,000 trees, shrubs and bushes on his land and subsequently keep them alive during a drought in the area.

Volunteers wanting to take part in the family-run project focusing on land regeneration and reforestation are offered ‘Glamping’ accommodation on site as well as food.

A write-up on one online site offering volunteers the chance to get involved, thought to have been drafted by Xavier and his partner, says: “We are trying to create something that is becoming rare in this day and age. 

“The unique opportunity to disconnect, while enjoying life by living simply surrounded by nature, in a remote enchanting forest valley.  

“We are looking for volunteers who will join us for a month or more, who bring good energy to the land and community, who take pleasure in giving and are willing to get involved in a wide range of projects to help create the vision.”

The write-up adds that accommodation would be in a shared tepee or tent for those preferring more privacy.

“Living in a forest means we are totally off-grid, creating the rare opportunity to disconnect from the usual connections in modern day life, allowing us the time to enjoy the natural surroundings as well as the people around us.”

The so-called Blue Whale Challenge has been linked to numerous deaths around the world.

It encourages teens to take part in a series of 50 tasks which include self-harming and eventually taking their own life.

Portuguese cops were continuing to probe on Tuesday after a British man was arrested on Monday.

The suspect was an organiser of a weekend festival and had been worrying about paying for land he had rented due to poor ticket sales caused by bad weather in the run-up to the event, Correio da Manhã reported.

It was not immediately clear on Tuesday if the festival took place on the land owned by the couple.

But police sources said after the unnamed Brit man’s body was found he and the suspect had been at a party at Libelinha Venture before moving onto woodland outside the community.

It is not known if the party at Libelinha Venture and the suspect’s organised festival were the same event.

Cops confirmed on Monday they were initially told the British man’s death was linked to an argument that started while he and his friends were playing the Blue Whale suicide challenge.

But sources close to the investigation subsequently insisted they had found no evidence there was a Blue Whale link to the death.

The Portuguese daily also claimed on Tuesday the suspect had only mentioned the game “after having confessed to the crime” as a way of “explaining the situation that led to the macabre death.”

The alarm was raised around 6.30am on Sunday and the detainee reportedly admitted stabbing his alleged victim before taking police to the remote woodland spot where his body was.

Investigators believe the knife used was found alongside the corpse and left in a small clearing in woodland close to Figueiró dos Vinhos.

Footage published Correio da Manhã showed police lifting the dead man’s body on a stretcher after it was covered with a sheet and putting it into the back of a nearby van.

A waiting Red Cross ambulance took it to Coimbra after officers reached the nearest tarmacked road.

A post-mortem is thought to have taken place yesterday in the university city of Coimbra, although the results have not been made public.

Policia Judiciaria police force in Coimbra is also in charge of the ongoing investigation and has not yet been made any official comment.

“The suspected author of the crime has been arrested. The circumstances including the possible motive are still under investigation,” A well-placed police source said.

“Both the detainee and the man arrested on suspicion of killing him are British.”

Another police insider said: “A group of about half a dozen people the suspect and dead man were part of were staying at a campsite near to the place where the victim’s body was found.

“It appears they had attended a party there earlier that night before leaving to head for the woodland where the stabbing happened.”

The group are understood to have been planning to fly back to the UK in about a week’s time.

No official information has yet been released about when the suspect will appear in court.

The hearing will take place behind closed doors and a judge will have to decide whether to remand him in custody or release him on bail pending an ongoing judicial probe.