Suspect arrested over Madrid teen’s 18-year-old murder found dead in cell

The main suspect in a high-profile Madrid murder case, who was arrested last October over 18 years after the incident, was found dead in his jail cell on Friday, prison officials said.

Authorities believe that Ahmed Chehl, 55, committed suicide at the Alcalá Meco prison outside the Spanish capital by hanging himself with his own shoelaces.

The case had remained unsolved for nearly two decades until investigators traced the suspect through DNA testing

The Spanish-Moroccan, who was arrested on October 1 by French police in Pierrefontaine-les-Varans – a village in the northeastern Franche-Comté region where he had been living – was extradited to Spain to face charges for the murder of 17-year-old high school student Eva Blanco Puig.

Blanco was raped and stabbed to death as she walked home from a nightclub in Algete (Madrid) on the night of April 20, 1997. Her body was found dumped near a roundabout on the M-100 highway in Algete, 30 kilometers northeast of the capital.

The case, which ignited outrage across Spain, had remained unsolved for nearly two decades until investigators traced the suspect through DNA testing.

Chehl, who was born in Morocco but had Spanish citizenship, left Spain in 1999 and had been living with his wife and children in the quiet French village until his arrest last year.

Authorities said that he had attempted suicide once he was in custody by trying to cut his jugular vein with a small sharp object.

Chehl had been on a suicide watch, but this was lifted on December 16 at the recommendation of psychologists, penitentiary sources said.

Despite the favorable medical evaluation, prison officials assigned another inmate to watch over him. These inmates are part of a support group that works inside the jail to help out troubled prisoners.

However, his guardian was also taken away on January 8 after Chehl received another favorable medical evaluation. The sources added that the suspect had even offered to help out in the inmate support group.

The apparent suicide will be investigated by Spanish National Police, according to authorities, who added that the incident has angered the judge overseeing the Blanco murder case.

For 18 years, Civil Guard authorities chased down more than 100 leads before they were able to connect DNA traces found on Blanco’s body to Chehl.

Besides murder, he was also facing charges of sexual assault and illegal detention.

English version by Martin Delfín.