Manhunt for suspected serial killer linked to 8 deaths in Spain

Bilbao, Spain, May 5 (EFE).- Police in Spain are hunting for a suspected serial killer wanted in relation to the deaths of eight men who he allegedly made contact with on dating apps.

Sources close to the investigation told Efe Thursday that police are looking for a man of South American origin who is believed to be 24.

There are four legal investigations into deaths that occured in Bilbao, in northern Spain’s Basque Country, between September and October 2021 although investigators suspect the individual could be linked to four other cases in which the causes of death at the time were reported as natural.

Regional police forces in the Basque Country, the Valencia region and the Madrid region are taking part in the investigation.

Investigators are working on the assumption that the alleged killer contacted his victims via gay dating apps and would later meet with them at their homes, where he would drug them in order to access their banking details and extract money from their accounts.

Officials were alerted to the suspected homicidal nature of the deaths when they found that the bank accounts belonging to a 43-year-old man who died on 18 October 2021 in Bilbao had been emptied.

Another man reported the alleged assailant to police after surviving an attack.

Following his latest alleged attack in Bilbao’s Old Town, the assailant, who is now a fugitive, left behind personal objects including a rucksack and a package containing a narcotic substance.

The events have sparked protests from LGBTQI groups across Spain. EFE

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