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Spanish fugitive arrested in New York over murder of girlfriend 20 years ago

Spanish police working with American FBI agents found a fugitive accused of murdering his girlfriend nearly 20 years ago in Spain - and just four months before the statute of limitations would have ended.

Published: 23 June 2017 11:50 CEST

Spanish fugitive arrested in New York over murder of girlfriend 20 years ago

File photo: Nomadsoul1/Depositphotos

Spanish National police reported on Friday that they had arrested a Spanish fugitive in New York, with the help of the Spanish embassy in Washington, the FBI and American immigration authorities from the ICE.

Police believe that he is responsible for the murder of his girlfriend in 1997.

The Spanish national with Dominican roots had been dating the Colombian mother of two for six months before her death. Police say she had wanted to end the relationship weeks before, and the man had refused. The suspect started to act resentful towards her and intimidated her in direct and indirect ways, even reportedly threatening to kill her with a gun.

Then on October 5th 1997, police say the man turned up to the woman’s home in Barcelona where she lived with her children and other family members, saying he needed to retrieve some documents from her. Police believe that through either violence, intimidation or deception, the man managed to get the woman into his car, after which point she was not seen again.

The next day, the man boarded a flight and arrived in New York, where he has since been living secretly, using fake documents, the FBI confirmed. It is believed that he never returned to Spain after that.

Eight months after he left for New York, the woman’s body was discovered by chance in an area with a lot of vegetation in nearby Viladecans, close to Barcelona’s airport.

Spanish police explained in their report that they had been able to track the suspect down with the help of not only American, but also Dominican authorities, and were able to deduce that the man had been using a new identity in New York.

The man is now being held in a detention centre in the US, awaiting his extradition to Spain.

'Pedro stay!': Thousands of Spanish PM's supporters take to the streets

The 52-year-old, who has been in office since 2018, stunned Spain on Wednesday when he put his resignation on the line after a Madrid court opened a preliminary investigation into suspected influence peddling and corruption against his spouse Begona Gomez.

Sanchez said he would suspend all public duties until he announces his decision on Monday. The normally hyperactive premier has since remained out of sight and silent.

“I need to stop and think whether I should continue to head the government or whether I should give up this honour,” he wrote in a four-page letter posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Supporters on Saturday held up placards saying “Spain needs you”, “Pedro don’t abandon us’, and shouted slogans such as “Pedro leader”.

“I hope that Sanchez will say on Monday that he will stay,” said Sara Domínguez, a consultant in her 30’s, adding that his government had “taken good steps for women, the LGBT community and minorities”.

Jose María Diez, a 44-year-old government official who came from Valladolid in northern Spain to express his support, said there was a real possibility that the far-right could take power if Sanchez quit.

“This will mean a step backwards for our rights and liberties,” he warned.

Inside the party headquarters, there were similar passionate appeals.

‘Pedro stay’

“Pedro stay. We are together and together we can … take the country forward, Spain can’t step back,” said Budget Minister Maria Jesus Montero, the government number two.

“Today all democrats, all progressives, are summoned to Madrid against a pack whose only aim is to overthrow a democratic and legitimate government,” said Felix Bolanos, Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Parliamentary Relations.

At one point, Socialist leaders took to the streets to thank those gathered. “They won’t succeed,” government spokeswoman Pilar Alegria told the crowd.

The court opened the investigation into Sanchez’s wife in response to a complaint from anti-corruption pressure group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), whose leader is linked to the far right.

The group, which has presented a litany of unsuccessful lawsuits against politicians in the past, said on Wednesday its complaint was based on media reports and could not vouch for their veracity.

While the court did not give details of the case, online news site El Confidencial said it focused on links Gomez had to Spanish tourism group Globalia when carrier Air Europa was in talks with the government to secure a huge bailout.

The airline sought the bailout after it was badly hit by plunging paseenger numbers during the Covid-19 crisis.

At the time, Gomez was running IE Africa Centre, a foundation linked to Madrid’s Instituto de Empresa (IE) business school, which had signed a sponsorship agreement with Globalia in 2020.

Spain’s public prosecutors office on Thursday requested the dismissal of the investigation, which Sanchez said was part of a campaign of “harassment” against him and his wife waged by “media heavily influenced by the right and far right”.

If Sanchez decides to remain in office, he could choose to file a confidence motion in parliament to show that he and his minority government are still supported by a majority of lawmakers.

If he resigns, an early election could be called from July — a year after the last one — with or without Sanchez at the helm of the Socialist party.

The right-wing opposition has accused the prime minister of being irresponsible for putting the country on hold while he mulls his decision.

“It’s very clear to us that this is all a tactic… We know Pedro Sanchez and things with him always turn out like a soap opera,” Cuca Gamarra, the number two of the main opposition conservative Popular Party, said on Friday.

“He is making us all wait and the country is at a standstill,” she added.

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