A Spanish actor and his wife have been charged with poisoning her aunt in order to seize an inheritance before her death.
Luis Lorenzo Crespo, 61, and his wife Arancha Palomino, 37, were detained near Madrid on May 27 for allegedly murdering their 85-year-old aunt Mara Isabel in June 2021.
According to investigators, the two asked aunt Isabel to stay with them and poisoned her with heavy metals.
Officers arrived at Lorenzo’s home after he confirmed she was staying with them, as family had not heard from her in some days.
The elderly woman had somehow spent large amounts of money during leading up to her death, police found.
She had apparently updated her will to leave her entire estate to her niece only months before she passed away.
The duo invited aunt Isabel to stay with them and used heavy metals to poison her, police said
Standing outside court in nearby Arganda del Rey, Lorenzo said: ‘I am convinced that this will be cleared up.’ He added: ‘Obviously, I think it is a very complicated situation, especially for the children’
Homicide detectives found bundles of 100, 50 and 20 euro bills hidden among the clothes and in plastic bags when police searched their address, adding up to at least €142,000 euros in total.
The investigation also found the couple had around €50,000 in their bank account, as well as the cash.
The aunt was originally thought to have died of natural causes brought on by dementia last year, but her suspicious brother requested a second autopsy, which discovered she had been poisoned.
The autopsy’s findings revealed on 31st May that Isabel had 200 times the normal level of cadmium and 20 times the normal level of manganese in her body.
The metals are present in dyes, batteries and fungicides, and is also present in industrialised areas.
The report suggests the elderly woman would have had to swallow the toxic metals.
Lorenzo’s lawyer Francisco Perez said the elderly woman was poisoned after consuming fish with high levels of mercury.
The couple said they were looking after the elderly woman, taking her to see specialists following her diagnosis with dementia in an attempt to explain the spending.
But the Civil Guard said there was no record of a dementia diagnosis, while neighbours claimed the couple neglected her.
The Spanish actor has appeared in such shows as ‘El Comisario’, a gritty police drama and the comedy ‘La Que se Avecina’.
Standing outside court in nearby Arganda del Rey, Lorenzo said: ‘I am convinced that this will be cleared up.’
He added: ‘Obviously, I think it is a very complicated situation, especially for the children.’
Lorenzo refused to testify both before the Civil Guard and in court, but Arancha decided to respond to the sitting judge.
‘I don’t know since when my husband has kept it at home. He had it hidden in case they came to steal. He’s the one who had it at home because he doesn’t trust banks,’ said Arancha, according to El Confidential.
The couple were at first arrested and then released on bail, though they have not been officially charged as the investigation into their finances is not yet complete.
Arancha was transferred to La Paz hospital after attempting suicide shortly after being arrested, reported El Debate