An update to Google Street View images helped the Spanish National Police solve a murder in the peaceful municipality of Tajueco, Spain. The information was released by the police this Wednesday (18).
Tajueco, a town with just 56 inhabitants, had not received updates on Google Street View images since 2009. In October of this year, the company car drove through the town’s streets again to take new photos and update the platform.
Police used two different moments as evidence in the process investigating a murder. In the first one, it is possible to see, in the background, a man wearing dark blue and walking down the street with a wheelbarrow and a large white bag.
In the second moment, a man wearing a blue jacket and jeans is caught placing a large white bag in the trunk of his car, on a street perpendicular to the first scene. Manuel Isla Gallardo, 48, was the alleged man photographed by Google Street View cameras, according to Spanish newspaper El País. It is believed that the victim’s body was inside the white bag.
In addition to the Google Street View images, other evidence was used by the police, who arrested two suspects in the crime on November 12th. Manuel and his ex-wife, whose name was not revealed, were detained.
The victim’s disappearance was reported in November 2023 after suspicions from a cousin. He received WhatsApp messages from the victim’s phone, which said he had met a woman, was leaving town and would no longer use his phone. Suspicious, the cousin called the police.
The motives for the crime are still being investigated. According to El País, the arrested woman also had a relationship with the victim. Furthermore, the police are investigating at what point, between the disappearance and the alleged transportation, the victim was killed.
On December 11, the National Police found part of the victim’s body in a cemetery in Andaluz, 10 km from the location of the Google Street View records. Other parts of the body are still being sought. The two prisoners are accused of kidnapping and murder.
