madrid: Spanish police announced on January 22 that they had arrested a Pakistani man suspected of murdering three brothers in their 70s over a debt allegedly related to an online romance scam.
A police statement said the suspect turned himself in on Sunday and “admitted his involvement in the incident related to the triple murder that took place at a residence in Morata de Tajuna.”
According to judicial sources, the suspect was convicted of attacking one of the sisters with a hammer a year ago.
Police found the partially burned bodies of three people inside their home in a village about 35 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of Madrid on Thursday.
Neighboring residents became alarmed after the two sisters and their disabled brother were not seen for a while, and police announced that their deaths were being treated as murders over suspected debts.
Police announced on Monday that the man, known only as DHFC, was the “prime suspect” in the case as he had “previously injured one of the female victims last year” and the court heard that he was the “main suspect” in the case. confirmed his arrest and conviction.
Spanish media, citing local residents, said the tragedy was likely related to a fake online romance, with the sisters starting a long-distance relationship with two people believed to be American soldiers.
The two sisters were made to believe that one of them had died and the other needed money to transfer a multi-million euro inheritance, leaving the sisters in huge debt.
Initially, they started borrowing money from their neighbors.
convicted of hammer attack
Meanwhile, the suspect reportedly loaned the sisters at least 50,000 euros (RM257,762), which they had not repaid, leading to a violent attack on one of the sisters. caused it.
According to a statement from the Supreme Court of the Madrid region, the suspect was arrested in February 2023 at the home where he lived as a tenant.
He then hit the victim “at least three times in the head with a hammer” and kicked him when he fell to the floor, according to the verdict.
He was remanded in pre-trial detention until his trial begins in September and was sentenced to two years in prison, a fine of 2,900 euros (RM14,950) and prohibited from coming within 500 meters (1,600 feet) of the victim. 2 years and 6 months.
However, under Spanish law, first-time offenders sentenced to up to two years in prison automatically have their sentences suspended, so he was released after agreeing to pay compensation, the statement said.
Police initially said the suspect was 43 years old, but court records show he was 42 years old.
When they called police last week, neighbors said they hadn’t seen the brothers since before Christmas.
The sisters told Spanish media that they repeatedly asked them to borrow large sums of money, but they did not believe it was a scam and said they would return the money once the €7 million (approximately RM36.09 million) inheritance was paid.
“They weren’t asking for 100 or 20 euros, they were asking for 5,000 or 6,000 euros,” one neighbor told state broadcaster TVE on Friday.
Police have not commented on these reports. –AFP