Isha Sesay
POLICE in Mallorca have begun to search a farm for the body of a missing man allegedly murdered by a suspected serial killer.
The development has led to the arrest of 70-year-old Juan Torres Serra who is connected to the disappearance of three other men.
Guardia Civil investigators believe the corpse of a 48-year-old man has been buried in the grounds of a farm in Binasselem.
The man was reported missing by his family on August 24 after they became suspicious that Serra was living in his home.
Serra had told them that the man had left for Ibiza and had given him a signed document stating that the house now belonged to him.
However, no trace of the man has ever been found and his bank account has not been touched since the day he went missing.
This sparked an investigation into Serra which revealed that he had been questioned about the disappearance of three men.
The men all went missing in similar circumstances and have never been found.
The first was 77-year-old lawyer Antonio Ferrer Juan who disappeared in Ibiza in 1997.
Before disappearing, he told some of his close friends that Serra was threatening him to hand over money.
His car was found at the house where Serra lived after he disappeared.
In 1998, Serra’s landlord, 41-year-old Thomas Egner, also went missing in Ibiza.
When questioned at the time, Serra told police that the man had gone to South America and left him in charge of the house.
In 2007, 60-year-old Francisco Lopez Alvarez also went missing in Ibiza with Serra being the last person to see him.
Serra is being held on suspicion of murder and will remain in police custody.
Earlier this year, a man was arrested in Barcelona on suspicion of murdering four homeless people.
The 35-year-old was arrested only mere hours after the fourth murder was committed.
The victim was found beaten to death close to famous La Sagrada Familia landmark.
Investigators believed that the detainee was responsible for another three murders where all victims were brutally attacked while asleep.
