A high-profile trial over the murder of a 70-year-old man that took place in late 2019 has concluded in the province of Zamora. Two Portuguese citizens—a man and a woman—have been found guilty of killing the pensioner in order to take control of his financial benefits. The court sentenced them to 22 and 17 years in prison, respectively.
The tragedy occurred on December 27, 2019. The accused, having planned the crime in advance, gave the victim a powerful substance to keep him from resisting. They then transported him by car to the banks of the Tera River, near Sanabria Lake, in an area known as Pozo Muerto. There, they tied the man up, taped his eyes and mouth shut, and attached a bag of lime to his body. They placed him in a large bag and threw him into the water, leaving him no chance to escape.
Investigators determined that the perpetrators acted solely for financial gain. After the pensioner’s death, the woman continued to receive and freely use his pension payments from Portugal and the UK. The total amount fraudulently obtained was about €35,000.
A few days later, passersby discovered the victim’s body on the shore of the lake. Identification was complicated by the absence of documents, but a nearby pack of cigarettes helped establish who he was. The investigation revealed the victim had a criminal record in the UK and had been living in the city of Verín, Galicia.
The victim’s daughter, who lives in the UK, reported her father’s disappearance, which became the starting point for uncovering the crime. As a result of the trial, she was awarded 120,000 euros in compensation. A third person, detained on suspicion of involvement, was fully acquitted and released from all charges.
The woman identified as the crime’s organizer had been in custody since 2023, while her accomplice was already serving a sentence for another case. Now both are facing many years behind bars, and the case has become one of the most high-profile in the region in recent years.
