A love triangle murder mystery has been solved by macabre Google Street View photos allegedly showing a body bag being loaded into a car.
The extraordinary image, which is still available on Google Maps, shows someone leaning over a white bag in the trunk of a red car in the village of Calle Norte in Tajueco, Spain.
Police say the photos, unknowingly captured by a passing Google camera car, have been crucial in solving the murder of a missing man whose body has since been found in pieces.
The Cuban national, 33 years old, was reported missing by his brother in November 2023 and police had been trying to locate the man for months.
Some of his dismembered remains, including his torso, were found last week at the cemetery in the city of Andaluz, according to local media. Some of his limbs are reportedly still missing.
The man had reportedly traveled to Soria province to look for his wife, who was already living in the area.
When he arrived, he reportedly discovered that his Cuban wife was having an affair with her 40-year-old neighbor from Soria.who is known locally as Wolf of Tajueco and reportedly runs a bar in nearby Bayubas de Arriba.
Investigators said the crime stemmed from the love triangle, in which the woman and her affair partner planned the murder, according to Cibercuba.
The photo shows a man loading a body bag into the trunk of a red car, local media report
Another angle shows the man, who was wearing jeans and a blue jacket, leaning further into the trunk as he straps on the large white bag he added to it
The photos show the man wearing a jacket embroidered with the name of the local football club CD Numancia
The victim’s brother said the last messages he received from him stated that the man had met a woman and that he was planning to lose his phone.
The messages sounded suspicious and when he didn’t hear from his brother again, the man reported him missing.
Police investigated the disappearance and searched several properties in Soria, including excavations near the home of one of the suspects.
But the crucial clue in the case was provided by the Google Street View photos showing a man loading a large bag resembling a body into the trunk, leading investigators to focus on the woman’s new partner.
The photos show the man wearing a jacket with the name of the local football club CD Numancia embroidered on it. He was also wearing jeans and tan boots.
It is unclear who the person in the photos loading the trunk is.
Wiretaps showed that both the woman and the bartender were involved in the man’s disappearance, but it was not reported how this led investigators to the cemetery where the Cuban man’s remains were found.
They were arrested on November 12 and have been in pre-trial detention since then.
The Google Street View photos show the red Rover car parked on the side of the road, with the trunk open
Following the discovery of the man’s dismembered body, forensic experts examined the burial site (pictured) before transferring his remains to the Soria Institute of Legal Medicine for analysis.
The identification of the body found at the cemetery was complicated by the advanced decomposition of the remains, but police still believe they belong to the missing Cuban man.
Following the discovery of the man’s dismembered body, forensic experts examined the burial site at the cemetery before transferring his remains to the Soria Institute of Legal Medicine for analysis.
Identification of the body was complicated by the advanced decomposition of the remains, but police still believe they belong to the missing Cuban man.
The cemetery in Andaluz was closed for days after the gruesome discovery.
Residents of Tajueco, Andaluz and other nearby towns were shocked at the discovery of the body, with one person telling local media: ‘Nobody thought something like this could happen here. It’s such a quiet town.’
Other locals said the ‘Wolf of Trajueco’ led a lonely life, plagued by personal problems.
A local judge has ordered that details of the case remain secret while the investigation continues, but authorities promised that both the victim and the two suspects would be publicly identified soon.