Google Maps Help to Solve Murder in Quiet Village in Spain
In Spain, Google Maps helped the police find suspects in a murder. A car taking pictures of streets for the app accidentally captured a man loading a large sack into a car. Two suspects were arrested. This is reported by The Guardian and El País.
The case dates back to November 2023. Back then, the police were informed of the disappearance of a Cuban citizen living in Spain in the northern municipality of Soria. He had come there hoping to find a woman whom he believed to be his partner.
A relative of the missing man told the police that he had received several suspicious messages from his phone. In them, the missing man allegedly said that he had met another woman, was leaving Spain and was going to get rid of the gadget. The man found these messages suspicious, so he decided to contact the police.
The investigation soon led to the Cuban's former partner and another man with whom the wanted woman was believed to have had a romantic relationship.
Last month, police arrested them, accusing them of involvement in the death and disappearance. A few weeks later, a dismembered body was found in the cemetery of a neighbouring village, believed to be that of a Cuban.
‘One of the clues that investigators used to solve the crime (although it was not decisive) was the images found during the study of the mapping application,’ the police said.
A car with a Google Maps camera driving past the village of Tahueco in October captured a picture of a man loading a large white sack into the trunk of a red Rover car on a nearly deserted street.
This led police to find the car, which was likely used in the crime.
El País interviewed residents of Tahueco, which has a population of 56 people. Some of them said they had seen the Google Maps images but did not attach much importance to them.
The investigation is currently ongoing.