The murder of Lorenzo Pompiliu, a 21-year-old Toledo resident, remains unresolved nearly five years after the attack. In the early hours of 31 October 2021, he was fatally wounded in the neck with a machete near Parque Lineal in the Santa María de Benquerencia neighborhood, also known as El Polígono. The attacker wore a mask, and no perpetrator has been publicly identified or arrested.
The attack happened near Parque Lineal, a place frequented by local young people. According to accounts of the case, Pompiliu and his childhood friend Álvaro had left a nearby house party to get some air. As they walked along a bike path, a masked man in jeans and a dark hoodie, wearing sneakers, confronted them and demanded their belongings. Álvaro recalled that the attacker spoke briefly and seemed to have a Latin American accent.
At first, the two friends thought the encounter might be a Halloween prank. Then the masked man struck the ground several times with his machete, making clear that the threat was real. Pompiliu handed over a ten-euro note, but questioned its denomination and tried to take it back. The attacker slashed his neck, inflicting a fatal wound, then fled and left the note behind. Álvaro, who also suffered a superficial cut, called emergency services twice but could not save his friend.
Witnesses gave different accounts of the mask: some described a skull, while others compared it to the hockey-style mask associated with Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th. They also disagreed about its color. Investigators considered red the likeliest. The disguise concealed the attacker’s face, and forensic analyses produced no conclusive fingerprint match to the killer.
The attack happened in a poorly lit area without security cameras, and the suspect left few traces. Investigators believed the perpetrator may have lived in the neighborhood or known it well. The case remains open. The Policía Nacional has said the investigation continues in cooperation with central services, but has released no operational details. No similar incidents have been reported in the area since.
Earlier that same night, a group of four young people reported seeing a similarly masked individual about 850 meters away in a nearby urbanization known for illegal squatting. The man brandished a machete with blue reflections and threatened the group, but fled when confronted. Investigators included the reported encounter in their inquiry into the events of that night.
Pompiliu was described as calm and friendly, with no known enemies. He had recently completed an advanced IT course and liked spending time at home with computers and video games. On the night he died, he left home around 9 p.m., telling his parents he would eat out. His mother offered to pick him up because of the rain, but he declined. Photos from the party show him smiling just hours before the attack.
Investigators examined Pompiliu’s phone and computer, then interviewed witnesses and analyzed several machetes found in the city. They also checked local shops for similar masks and consulted criminal profiling experts. Despite these efforts, the attacker’s identity remains unknown.
Pompiliu’s father, Constantine Cazacu, continues to push for greater efforts to clarify what happened and find out who killed his son and why. The family honors Lorenzo’s memory with photographs and a small altar near the site of the attack. Each year on 30 October, relatives and friends gather in the park to remember him and call for justice.
La Tribuna de Toledo has called the killing one of Toledo’s most shocking unresolved crimes. Nearly five years later, the Policía Nacional says the investigation remains open in cooperation with central services. The case still weighs on the community as Pompiliu’s family waits for answers.
