January 24, 2009 was the last day the parents of 17-year-old Marta del Castillo saw her leave the house. Fourteen years after her disappearance, her family continues to search for the young woman’s body and now they have raised a new body search in an enclave indicated by his father, Antonio del Castillo.
The Sevillian woman’s body was never found, although Miguel Carcaño, then 19, was sentenced to 21 years and three months in prison after confessing to the crime. Given the unknown whereabouts of Marta’s body, her father, who never stopped looking for her, posted a photo on social media of the where his daughter was, based on a statement by Miguel Carcaño.
“More than 6 months ago, they promised me that it would be the National Police (CNP) who would look at this with discretion. Today, the word given is worth what it is worth. I will see to it. The site cannot be seen because yes, many clues“, accompanies the image. Thus, he expresses his disappointment after that, according to him, the Police did not keep their word to investigate near an abandoned well.
More than 6 months ago, they promised me that it would be the CNP who would look at this with discretion. Today, the word given is worth what it is worth. I’ll take care of it.
The site is not looked at because yes, a lot of clues. pic.twitter.com/K5d8bgmEfz—Antonio del Castillo (@castle62) March 10, 2023
Although the precise location of the area was not revealed in the publication, del Castillo assures that his daughter could have been thrown there given a few words from Miguel Carcaño. “There was something circular in concrete in the trench”, Antonio shared by paraphrasing a statement from the confessed author, assuring it was “something he had never said before”.
For its part, the National Police clarified that the place to which the victim’s father referred “is located in a private property and it is agricultural land in which there was a plantation”.
Although officers say the crop “has already been harvested”, they are now hoping “obtain the authorization of its owner to carry out the research, in the event that the efforts made lead to objective elements making it possible to establish the possibility” that the identification efforts lead to a “positive” result.
“As soon as these steps are completed, the Judicial Authority will be informed of the result of these, to start the search“, said the national police.
However, there are already hundreds of users who, through social networks, have sent signs of support and offered to collaborate and help Antonio del Castillo to search for the remains of his daughter in the area. “If you need manpower to help you, just say the place and timeThere are many of us, Sevillians, Andalusians and Spaniards who would give everything so that you and your family can finally rest”, comment one. “Put in an account number and we help out as much as we can to pay the cranes, the diggers, the detectives, whatever it takes,” adds another.
Archived the open cause to search for the body
Last year, the justice closed the case open since 2009 corresponding to the search for the body of Marta del Castillo, considering that the period of investigation had already expired. At the time, Antonio called the closing of the court case a “shame” and said it was all “the consequence of poor police investigation and poor investigation”.
In the same way, the third section of the court of Seville rejected the appeal of the family of Marta del Castillo against the decision of the judge of instruction number four which authorized an expert to access and extract the “raw phone data” the motives of Miguel Carcaño and Marta, but not those of others involved in the case, such as Carcaño’s brother, Francisco Javier Delgado; his girlfriend María García Mendaro, Carcaño’s friend Samuel Benítez or the young Francisco Javier García, known as “El Cuco”.
The first three were acquitted after the trial held in 2011 against the adults accused of this crime, while in the case of Cuco he was convicted in juvenile court for covering up the murder carried out by Carcaño. Already in 2022, Criminal Court Number Seven sentenced him and his mother to two years in prison for the crime of perjuryduring their appearances as witnesses in the aforementioned trial held in 2011 against the adults.
The appeal of the victim’s parents was rejected “since the new doctrine of the Supreme Court is applicable (…), which considers that the period of instruction has expired without having previously consented to its extension, since they do not ‘were not interested in the charges”. said pronouncement, an effect which should be assessed in the present proceedings, which began on November 9, 2009″ as “separate room to continue efforts to find and locate the bodyof the victim, “without a resolution being subsequently taken to extend the period of investigation”.
previous decisions
In this sense, the third section defended the firmness of the judgment of the Supreme Court, after having appealed in cassation against the judgment of the seventh section of first instance on the main exhibit started regarding this crime; as well as the second file of the proceedings against Francisco Javier Delgado, Carcaño’s brother, due to the accusations in which he accused him of being the real culprit.
Citing extensive case law, the third section of the hearing said “has concluded the investigation phase taking into account the duration of the investigation”, precisely “12 years, eleven months and 17 days”, which “also prevents taking into account the agreed acts once the period of investigation has ended, in accordance with the jurisprudential doctrine, without leading to any criminal action other than that to which it was submitted. lawsuits in the main or main room”, settled with the conviction of Miguel Carcaño.
The court therefore rejected the appeal of the victim’s family and upheld the denial of “the practice of new evidence procedures”, in this order against which there was no room for “no ordinary remedy”.
However, recently, the prosecutor’s office formalized a letter guaranteeing that the corpse search exhibit “it will always remain open until the body appears, with no time limit”after which he asked the judicial authority to specify the said end in his next resolution.