The dismembered body of a man of Cuban origin was discovered on December 11, 2024 in the Andaluz cemetery (Soria, Spain). Two suspects, a man and a woman, were arrested on November 12 and placed in pre-trial detention for “aggravated illegal detention” and suspected homicide, reports the daily. The Country. One of the key elements of the investigation: images captured by a Google Street View car showing a man handling a suspicious package in the trunk of his car.
The investigation began in November 2023, when a Cuban man was reported missing by his cousin JLPO, a resident of Soria. The latter alerts the police after receiving unusual messages sent from his cousin's phone. The text messages indicated that the victim had met a woman, that he was leaving the province of Soria and that he left his phone. Suspecting that another person was pretending to be his loved one, the cousin decided to notify the police.
Investigators quickly discovered inconsistencies in these messages and began following several leads. The relationship between the victim and a woman of Cuban origin attracts their attention, as does the latter's link with her former husband, Manuel Isla Gallardo, 48 years old, resident of Tajueco (Soria).
Google Street View images, an unexpected clue
In October 2024, a Google Street View car passes through the small town of Tajueco (56 inhabitants), a town where Google image updates are extremely rare (the last one dates back to 2009). To everyone's surprise, one of the photos captured by the vehicle shows a man, later identified as Manuel Isla Gallardo, handling a large white package in the back of his car trunk.
In another photo taken on a sloping street, we see a figure dressed in blue pushing a wheelbarrow containing a bulky object wrapped in white. These images, publicly viewable on Google Street View, have not gone unnoticed. The residents of Tajueco, who had already seen the first image, paid no particular attention to it at the time. “We didn’t think he was doing anything abnormal and we didn’t pay attention to it”told a resident to the newspaper The Country.
Multiple pieces of evidence help identify suspects
Although the Google Street View images contributed to the investigation, they were not the only clue used by investigators. The Spanish National Police clarified that “the car model [repéré sur l’image] and the telephone conversations listened to by the agents were decisive in concluding the investigation”. Investigators also analyzed the exchange of messages between the suspects and the victim, reinforcing the hypothesis of illegal detention followed by homicide.
On November 12, 2024, Manuel Isla Gallardo and his ex-partner of Cuban origin were arrested by the police. They are placed in pre-trial detention, accused of “aggravated illegal detention” and homicide. The authorities are continuing investigations to better understand the exact role of each of the suspects and the motive for the crime, which still remains unclear.
A dismembered torso discovered at the Andaluz cemetery
Police searches are focused on the Andaluz cemetery (Soria), near the village of Tajueco. It was there, on December 11, 2024, that investigators discovered a human torso in an advanced state of decomposition. The other body parts have not yet been found.
The discovery of the body was made possible thanks to clues collected during the excavations and the statements of witnesses. Searches were also carried out at a local landfill, where traces of recent excavations are visible.
Stupor in the villages of Tajueco and Andaluz
The affair caused shock and incomprehension among the inhabitants of Tajueco. Manuel Isla Gallardo, nicknamed “El Lobo”, was well known to the villagers. A former municipal worker, he then managed the local bar. “He seemed well integrated, even if recently he was more scattered”reported a resident to our colleagues. Some villagers even remember “bad taste jokes” which were circulating about him on social networks, long before the affair was revealed.
In Tajueco, where everyone knows each other, the news caused a stir. The residents had not noticed the presence of the police during their first interventions, thinking that they were “tourists passing through”. It was only after the arrest of the two suspects that the situation took on its full meaning.
The investigation continues
The investigation is not finished. Law enforcement continues to search for missing body parts. Forensic police analyzes are still underway to formally confirm the identity of the victim, although all available evidence suggests that this is indeed the man who went missing in November 2023.
The two suspects remain in pre-trial detention and will have to appear in court. As for the famous Google Street View image showing the man handling a white package, it is still visible on the platform, Google having not announced its withdrawal. On its site, the firm explains that “the visible content may be from a few months to several years old” and that it is possible to request the deletion of an image via a dedicated procedure.
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