Walter Finch
INTERPOL has appealed for help solving the mysterious murders of seven women in Spain whose bodies have gone years without being identified.
It is part of a wider campaign to help put a name to 46 women across Europe who were found in mysterious and macabre circumstances.
The campaign aims to raise public awareness of the tragic deaths and encourage citizens to come forward and help identify these women, with the ultimate goal of bringing the women’s killers to justice.
The seven cases in Spain are some of the most disturbing, with each of the victims being found dead in various locations.
READ MORE: Burnt body is found dumped in Spain’s Tenerife: Murder probe is launched after victim was ‘tied up’
From a young woman discovered in a hotel room with her hands bound to another found strangled in a rural field, these cases have baffled investigators for years.
The first case dates back to January 1999, when the body of a young woman, aged between 23 and 25, was found in a hotel room in Premià de Mar, Barcelona.
She was found with her hands tied and signs of violence. The woman had checked in with a man who spoke English and French, who was described as being in his mid-20s, with dark hair and a stubble.
They were last seen arriving from Geneva, but the man disappeared and has never been traced.
In November 2003, another body was found near Malgrat de Mar, a rural area outside Barcelona.
This time, it was a woman believed to be of Bengali origin, aged between 25 and 30.
Her body showed signs of numerous injuries, and police believe she died shortly before being found. Despite her distinctive appearance, which included a small Om tattoo on her hand and unique clothing from brands such as Marks & Spencer, her identity remains a mystery.
Two years later, in July 2005, a young woman was found dead on the side of the road in Viladecans, Barcelona.
She had been dead for around 24 hours and was dressed in pink, which led to her being nicknamed ‘the woman in pink.’
She had light brown hair, blue eyes, and wore clothes from Easy Wear, but despite these clues, no one has come forward with information about her identity.
In 2007, the body of a woman was found in El Berrueco, Madrid, wrapped in a sheet. The woman, who had South American features, was thought to be between 25 and 40 years old.
She was wearing an owl-shaped ring and had latex capsules in her body, one of which had burst, leading police to suspect she was involved in drug trafficking as a ‘mule’.
It is believed she had arrived in Spain shortly before her death, but her identity remains unknown.
February 2009 saw another case in Bilbao, where the body of a woman was discovered on a forest trail on Mount Archanda.
She was believed to have died from poisoning, possibly alcohol-related, as a bottle of almond liqueur was found in her backpack.
She had short black hair, stood 1.66 metres tall, and may have come from Central Europe, though efforts to trace her have been unsuccessful.
In August 2018, a woman was found hanged in a shed in a remote area of Sant Julià de Ramis, Girona.
The young woman, aged between 25 and 35, had blonde hair, light brown eyes, and was wearing jeans and a striped shirt.
Despite the residents of the nearby farmhouse stating they had never seen her before, and extensive efforts to trace her identity across Europe, no leads have emerged.
And the most recent case, which took place in July 2019 off the coast of Ibiza, where the body of a young woman was discovered by people on a boat.
The woman, thought to be around 25-30 years old, had drowned, but no one reported her missing. Subsequent investigations suggested she had been working as a sex worker in the Ushuaïa area, serving wealthy clients from the Middle East.
Witnesses described her as introverted and often accompanied by a blonde transvestite, but no one knew her real name.
Interpol is urging anyone with information about these cases to come forward, as the identities of these women remain unknown, and their deaths unsolved.
The campaign seeks to bring closure to the families of the victims and help police unravel the mysteries surrounding their deaths.
