Police reopen search for Marta del Castillo’s body

The police are once again looking for the body of Marta del Castillo, a 17-year-old who was murdered by her boyfriend four years ago in Seville. Despite a search operation in the Guadalquivir River, the local dump and other sites, her corpse was never found.

The convicted murderer, 22-year-old Miguel Carcaño, led authorities on a wild goose chase as he changed his version of events as many as six times during the investigation.

Carcaño is now saying he buried Marta’s body in an area near the municipality of La Rinconada, but has not specified the exact location. The police have already searched six properties there, but lack specific reference points.

The main issue, however, is whether to believe Carcaño in the first place.

“Either he cannot remember the exact place where he buried her, or he is lying to us,” said police sources. “He has already given us so many versions that you can’t believe him off the bat. […] Now he is trying to drag his brother into the case, but in a way that is not believable.”

The final decision whether to call Carcaño to court for a new round of questioning lies with a Seville judge, who must also consider the cost of the search operation, which has already cost 616,319 euros since Marta went missing four years ago.

Carcaño, who was handed a 21-year jail term, is the only person to have been convicted of murder, even though there were four other people involved in the case. A friend of Carcaño’s, Javier García, who was underage at the time, served two years and 11 months in a juvenile center for covering up the crime. Carcaño’s stepbrother, the latter’s girlfriend and another friend were acquitted of all charges.