It was a supposedly flawless crime: a man in Spain seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth for months, and the police were at a loss. But then a Google car brought the murder to light.
Tajueco – Since November 2023, police in Tajueco, northern Spain, have been searching for a Cuban who was reported missing. His trace was lost in the village of just 56 inhabitants in the province of Soria in the east of the autonomous region of Castile and León.
Murder in Spain: WhatsApp message starts investigation – Google Street View convicts killer
Like the Spanish newspaper El Pais According to reports, the police investigation began when a cousin of the victim became suspicious. The man, who lives in the provincial capital Soria, around 50 kilometers away, received a strange WhatsApp message every day that supposedly came from his cousin. In it he stated that he had met a woman and was therefore moving away from Tajueco with her. But he leaves his phone behind in the village.
Upon hearing the news, the victim's cousin immediately suspected that it was not actually from his relatives and informed the police. But the case initially turned out to be complicated for the investigators. In fact, the officers quickly assumed a violent crime, but they were unable to find a body. Two men were quickly targeted by investigators, but they could not be proven to have committed an act.
Then, in October 2024, he gave the police a clear and unusual tip: Google published new Street View images in its Maps service – and they apparently show one of the suspects disposing of the body. One of the accused can be seen putting large plastic bags in the trunk of his car. A second, blurry street view shot shows the man transporting the bags into a wheelbarrow.
Murder case in Spain: Incredible coincidence provides “crucial clue”
With this, according to the police, “crucial clue” in their luggage, the suspects’ phones were finally tapped and the case was largely solved. Apparently the missing man was murdered by the accused, dismembered and the body parts were then disposed of in the local cemetery. At least most of them do – because the head continues to disappear even after major excavation work.
People in the small community are shocked by the violent crime – especially since the motive for the murder is still unclear. “Mother of God, what is happening in the villages,” said an official from the local church of San Miguel Arcángel El Pais. And other residents say that the accused men were always inconspicuous and nice.
Google Street View now helped solve her almost perfect murder – and this coincidence is even more incredible than you might initially think: in front of the recordings that captured the exact moment the body was disposed of, there were the cars with the 360 degree -Cameras last drove through the narrow streets of Tajueco 15 years ago.
