A suspected murderer has been apprehended by authorities after a Google Maps image seemingly captured him placing a body into the trunk of a vehicle.
The dismembered body parts of a man were discovered recently in a Romanesque cemetery in the Soria municipality of Andaluz, Spain, a small rural area with a limited population.
Local Spanish media have identified two individuals, a couple named Manuel, from Tajueco, and Alicia, as being arrested in relation to the man’s death.
They are currently facing charges of either murder or manslaughter, although the investigation is still underway.
Spanish reports vary regarding the dynamics between the three individuals, with some suggesting that a ‘love triangle’ scenario led to murder. It is claimed that the arrested couple had become romantically involved, and the victim, originally from Cuba, was Alicia’s spouse.
The couple reportedly lived apart from each other.
According to Cadena SER, Manuel previously operated a bar in Bayubas de Arriba, where the victim allegedly worked as a waiter.
CiberCuba has reported that the alleged perpetrator, a man in his 40s, was known locally as ‘El Lobo de Tajueco’, meaning ‘the wolf of Tajueco’. He ran a bar and was involved in an affair with the victim’s wife.
The National Police commenced their investigation in November 2023 after the victim’s family reported him missing.
His brother became concerned after receiving strange messages and subsequently losing contact.
The 33-year-old victim had traveled from Cuba to the rural Soria area seeking his wife, according to CiberCuba.
The case turned a corner when authorities focused on the couple and monitored their communications.
Nonetheless, it was an unsettling Google street view image, shared on Calle Norte in Tajueco, that became a pivotal piece of evidence.
The Google Maps image, released in October this year, seems to depict a man handling a body-sized plastic bag in the boot of a car.
The dismembered body parts, including a torso, have been retrieved from the burial location and are being examined by forensic specialists at the Soria Institute of Legal Medicine.
Additional remains of the victim have yet to be located.
The man believed to be implicated in the victim’s death has been transferred to Soria prison, while the woman is being held in Zuera prison in Zaragoza, as reported by Cadena SER.
A deputy government representative and the National Police Commissioner are set to provide more information about the case at a press conference scheduled for today (Wednesday, December 18).
The National Police has been reached out to for comments regarding the situation.