An American tourist was murdered by a Spanish farmer who allegedly lured her onto his land and cut off her hands after killing her so that she could not be identified, a court has heard.
Denise Pikka Thiem (pictured) was walking the pilgrims’ trail near Astorga, northern Spain, when Miguel Muñoz, 41, apparently tricked her into taking the wrong route by painting yellow signs similar to those on the Camino de Santiago. Thousands of tourist walk the route every year.
Ms Thiem, 41, from Arizona, disappeared in the village of Castrillo de los Polvazares in April 2015. It is claimed that Muñoz hit Ms Thiem on the head with a stick before slitting her throat and removing her hands.
Prosecutors say he later visited a bank to exchange $1,132 she had been carrying for euros.
Despite an extensive police search, Ms Thiem’s body was not found until September 2015. A police officer giving evidence at the trial, in the city of Leon, yesterday said that Muñoz had led them to the body, allegedly saying: “Calm down, calm down, I’ll take you there.”
The officer said that Muñoz described in great detail how the victim had died.
He said: “He even boasted that if it hadn’t been for him, we wouldn’t have found it,” the officer said. “At one point he crouched down and began to cry, whimpering, ‘What have I done?'”
Muñoz later withdrew his confession and said that he had merely found the body. His lawyer said that his client had suffered a breakdown.
The trial continues.