Crime
Malaga murderer was evicted from another flat before killing new landlord over 120 euros one month laterThe confessed perpetrator is a former legionnaire with martial arts skills, who was to serve an eight-month prison sentence for repeatedly violating a restraining order
Añádenos en Google The door of the flat on Calle Carraca, in Malaga's Miraflores de los Ángeles neighbourhood, where the murder happened. (Migue Fernández)Irene Quirante
22/05/2026 a las 13:27h.The 47-year-old detainee for the murder of his landlord in the Miraflores de los Ángeles neighbourhood in Malaga last week had only been living in the flat for a month.
The tenant had received an eviction notice from his previous landlord, which led to his move to the flat of the crime scene.
In his police confession, he said that he had had an argument with his landlord on the morning of the murder, 13 May. Alcohol was allegedly involved.
He wanted to recover 120 euros he had advanced the victim toward next month's rent, according to his version of events, which triggered his anger. "He tried to hit me with a screwdriver and I defended myself by squeezing his neck tightly," the suspect said.
The deceased is 60-year-old Víctor. As SUR reported last week, his life had long been derailed by substance abuse. His neighbours said that he was a good person until he drank. When he was not sober, Víctor could turn everything into a source of conflict.
His main source of income came from renting out three rooms in his flat. The price was quite affordable: 250 euros per room.
The confessed perpetrator is a former legionnaire with martial arts skills. He also led a complicated and problematic life.
He was about to serve an eight-month sentence for repeatedly violating a restraining order for approaching his ex-partner. Before moving to Miraflores, he was allegedly still living with her in Rincón de la Victoria. For over a year, the couple had been trying to regain custody of their young son.
The murder
On the day of the murder, the National Police went to the flat on Calle Carraca at around 5.25pm, after receiving a call from paramedics who reported that the body showed signs of violence.
Víctor appeared to have a broken nose and injuries consistent with asphyxiation. The police found two of the tenants at the property. They had called the emergency services an hour earlier.
According to reports, they had found their landlord dead upon returning to the flat. One of them quickly aroused the police's suspicions with his nervous demeanor and constant smoking.
In his initial statement, the suspect tried to convince the police that the last time he had seen the victim had been around 8am, when leaving for work.
Confession
His testimony, however, took a turn when the investigators informed him that he would be questioned as a witness. It was then, according to sources, that he broke down and admitted that he had argued with his landlord and that, during the fight, he had strangled him.
According to his account, he and the landlord went to a bar and started drinking anise liqueur. From there, they moved to another café, where Víctor was allegedly reprimanded for his behaviour. The same situation repeated at a third establishment.
They then bought some beers and sat down in a square to drink. It was at 1pm when, according to the detainee, the victim began threatening to kill him and hurling insults.
The accused then went to the building alone, but he didn't have his keys. He waited at the doorway for one of his roommates to return, but the first person to come back was his landlord.
They went upstairs and the detainee went to the bathroom, from where he heard a loud bang. Apparently, the landlord had just broken his bedroom door, which the suspect confronted him about. A heated argument ensued.
According to the suspect, Víctor again threatened to kill him and began demanding the rent the tenant had already paid.
As per the defendant's statement, he had also given the victim 120 euros towards next month's rent, because Víctor was always asking for cash. Frustrated, the tenant told him he was leaving the flat and demanded the money he had advanced, which allegedly provoked the landlord to react violently.
The detainee told the police that Víctor had grabbed a chisel and thrown it at him twice, hitting him in the shoulder once, though without causing injury. Then, he grabbed a screwdriver and tried to attack him again, but the suspect evaded the attack with a krav maga chokehold, disarming the victim.
It was then, according to the testimony, that he grabbed the landlord tightly by the neck, near the Adam's apple. They fell on the living room sofa.
After a struggle, the perpetrator realised he had killed Víctor. He tried to resuscitate him, but didn't succeed.
Text message evidence
On the morning in question, the confessed perpetrator repeatedly texted and called one of his flatmates to describe the argument with the landlord, appearing completely distraught.
"I'm going to kill him," he wrote at 2.45pm. Eleven minutes later, another WhatsApp message: "He threw the chisel at me twice, he's threatening me. I want what I gave him and I'm leaving."
At 4.35pm, he called him crying. "I killed him, I killed him, I killed him," he kept repeating.
The second tenant arrived at the flat about ten minutes later. According to his statement to the police, he didn't believe the suspect had killed the landlord until he saw the body on the floor. He immediately called the emergency services, but it was too late.
He told the investigators that he hadn't initially identified the perpetrator because he had still been in shock.