Body photographed

Google Maps images helped police in murder case

This Google Street View photo is said to show the alleged murder victim.

(Bild: Google)

Images on Google Maps could help solve a suspected murder case in Spain. Two people have been arrested in connection with the killing of a man in the province of Soria in the north of the country, the national police announced. The investigators had discovered "incriminating images in a location search application", it said.

This application was Google Street View, reported the state TV station RTVE and the newspaper "La Vanguardia", among others, citing the police. The images are said to show how a suspected corpse, apparently wrapped in a sheet, is placed in the trunk of a car by a man. The scene was photographed from behind by a Google recording van.

According to the police statement: "Investigators also had images they discovered during the investigation in a location-tracking app that showed a vehicle that may have been used in the course of the crime."

However, these images were "not decisive", the Policía Nacional emphasized. "Relevant" evidence had already been secured during house and vehicle searches. The two people arrested are a couple who have been divorced for some time, it said. The alleged victim, a Cuban, was the woman's new partner.

Cuban disappeared without a trace over a year ago
According to the authorities, the crime took place in the village of Tajueco, almost 200 kilometers northeast of Madrid. More than a year ago, in November 2023, the alleged 33-year-old victim was reported missing there by a relative. After around a year of searching, parts of a body were discovered on Wednesday last week in a cemetery not far from the village with only around 50 inhabitants.

The victim's head is still being searched for
The head of the investigating commission told journalists that the body parts could not yet be assigned to the missing person with absolute certainty. However, it is assumed that they are the remains of the missing Cuban. His body had probably been dismembered by the perpetrators. The investigation is ongoing. The search for the missing body parts, including the head, is continuing, it said.