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Madrid woman commits 67 crimes in six months

Police in Madrid have arrested a woman who they said committed 67 crimes within a six month period, using her daughter as accomplice.

Published: 29 May 2015 16:36 CEST

Madrid woman commits 67 crimes in six months

Spanish police stand by their van. Photo: Javier Soriano / AFP.

The woman was accused of one robbery involving violence and intimidation; another 11 robberies with force; 15 crimes of falsified documents; 15 counts of stolen identity and 25 incidents of scam, according to a report in Spanish newspaper 20minutos reported on Friday.

Police said the woman managed to commit all alleged crimes in less than six months.

El Pais newspaper reported the woman to be 44-year-old María Milagros I. R. of San Blas and her daughter to be Rosa María M. I., 19

El Pais also wrote that the case was still under investigation and the number of crimes could increase.

Police began investigating in November of last year when they learned about various robberies where documents and wallets were stolen from victims and later used to make online purchases, obtain credit and set up telephone lines.

Victims of theft later reported credit card charges from stores or websites they had never visited.

Investigators then started to make the connection between the crimes and were able to locate the women.

El Pais reported that the mother has been arrested previously for similar crimes.

When police went to the woman's house, they found multiple objects from the crimes, including six national identity documents, two computers, four pen drives, a large quantity of the items purchased online, eight phone cards and a falsified work contract.

Some of the stolen items had also been sold to third parties.

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Son of Spanish actor goes on trial over grisly Thai island murder

Chef Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, 29, pleaded not guilty at a hearing in November to the premeditated murder of 44-year-old Edwin Arrieta Arteaga on the nearby Koh Pha Ngan island.

The pair were reported by Spanish media to have connected on Instagram in 2022, with Sancho travelling to Thailand on July 31st as a tourist, where they met.

The trial opened Tuesday on the honeymoon isle of Koh Samui, with Sancho’s father, well-known Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho, arriving at the court shortly after 8:30 am (0130 GMT).

Lawyer Juan Gonzalo Ospina Serrano, representing Arrieta’s family, told reporters during a break that Sancho had not shown any remorse inside the courtroom.

“Daniel does not recognise he has committed any kind of murder, not voluntary or otherwise,” he said, before adding: “It is a chilling image to see him cuffed by hands and feet.”

Ospina said earlier that the family hoped “Thai law will be forceful, that the truth can be told”.

Detained

Sancho has been in pre-trial detention in Thailand since August, after police said he had admitted to the murder.

Under Thai law, premeditated murder convictions carry the death penalty.

However, Arrieta’s family previously said they would not seek the death penalty.

Sancho has admitted to hiding Arrieta’s body – which carries up to a year in jail – but he denies the second charge of destroying the Colombian’s passport.

Sancho’s lawyer Apichart Srinual declined to answer reporters’ questions.

The Thai public prosecutor who filed the case against Sancho also declined to speak to the media at the court.

The trial is expected to last until mid-May, with scores of witnesses due to appear in court.

In August, police found body parts that are believed to belong to Arrieta at a rubbish dump in Koh Pha Ngan.

CCTV footage obtained by local media showed Sancho and the victim on a motorcycle together shortly before the remains were discovered.

Police said at the time Sancho’s motive for the killing was unclear.

Koh Pha Ngan is famed for its white sandy beaches and draws thousands of backpackers to its notoriously wild “full moon” parties.

In 2017, another Spaniard, Artur Segarra, was convicted of murdering a businessman in Bangkok and discarding dismembered body parts into the Chao Phraya River.

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