The Polícia Judiciária (PJ) has apprehended a 51-year-old foreign national in Seixal, who has been sought for eight years by Spanish authorities for the crime of qualified homicide.
The PJ reports that the incident occurred in May 2017 in Madrid, Spain, at the family residence, involving extreme violence as proven in court.
The man, intending to kill his wife, struck her head at least three times, causing a cranial trauma. Besides this assault, he covered her respiratory passages (nose and mouth), placed a plastic bag over her head, and tied her hands and feet with adhesive tape, resulting in death by suffocation.
He was sentenced, in absentia, to 22 years in prison.
The PJ further states that he moved to Portugal about two years ago, continuing his work as a turbocharger recovery expert for automotive vehicles, with payments always made in cash to conceal his presence.
Additionally, a daughter from a previous relationship sent money to acquaintances of the father, who then transferred it to an account belonging to the now-detained man.
This arrest resulted from an extensive information exchange and a thorough investigation involving data cross-referencing and sharing of relevant details between the Portuguese Polícia Judiciária’s Information Unit and its counterpart in the Spanish National Police Corps.
The case garnered significant public and media attention in Spain due to the violence involved in the couple’s residence – where a minor child was also present, although whether the child witnessed the events remains unknown.
The arrest received coverage in media outlets such as El Confidencial and Noticias de Navarra.
The detained individual will be presented to the Lisbon Court of Appeal.
