The National Police in Vélez-Málaga have arrested a 42 year old man of North African origin in connection with a series of robberies with violence carried out against the most vulnerable in society, the elderly and young girls. In one instance, a 77 year old man died as a result of a blow to the head.
The police investigation began after a wave of robberies in Torre del Mar in apartment blocks between the promenade and avenida de Andalucía. The attacks were all carried out at night, between 22:00 and 01:00, and the targets were the most vulnerable to intimidation, the elderly and young girls. A common factor in all the robberies was the use of violence.
On March 18th, the body of an elderly German national was found outside his apartment. The initial signs were that the man had died as the result of an accident shortly after returning from a fishing trip to Caleta de Vélez. He still had the keys to the apartment in his hand. However, a later autopsy revealed that he had received a blow to the back of the head. In addition, the police were unable to locate the wallet of the deceased and this led to a merging with the investigation into the spate of robberies where the victims were also hit on the back of the head.
A police search of the house of the suspect, which he shared with several other people, resulted in the discovery of several items of clothing containing blood stains and these are now being analysed to see if the blood matches that of the German national. They also found a wallet which appears to have belonged to the deceased.
A series of identity parades have been carried out in which several of the victims of the robberies have identified the suspect as being their attacker.