Arrested in Murcia a fugitive accused of shooting dead his wife, his son and his mother-in-law in Honduras

The National Police has arrested in Molina de Segura (Murcia) a man claimed by the Honduran justice for having shot dead his wife, his son and his mother-in-law nine years ago. The crime for which Edin O. Martinez became a fugitive occurred in September 2014, when the arrested man was 22 years old. Relatives discovered the lifeless bodies of the son and mother-in-law, and were able to speak for a few minutes with the wife, who was badly injured. Before he died, his wife pointed to him as the perpetrator of the crime.

Edin O. Martínez has been arrested in the Murcian municipality of Molina de Segura (70,900 inhabitants), when he left for work. There he worked irregularly in the field and lived with his current partner – who is pregnant – according to police sources. The Honduran courts are claiming him for three homicides.

The events for which he will be held accountable occurred on the night of September 28, 2014, in the town of Candelaria. The municipality, belonging to the department of Lempura, is located in the western part of the country and is 96 kilometers from the border with El Salvador. Neighbors heard gunshots in the family home. The next day, several family members went to the house and found the body of the arrested man's mother-in-law along with her husband, who was injured. In another of the rooms they also found the son of the arrested and his mother, who died later. According to testimonies, the fugitive fled to Spain after, presumably, committing the crime.

Spanish police received a tip that the fugitive could be living in Molina de Segura. Apparently, someone recognized him after consulting the news on Honduran websites that identified him as the author of the three homicides, according to the police in a press release. The Honduran newspaper La Prensa reported on September 30 that he was arrested in the municipality of Mapulaca, in the same district. The information was accompanied by an image in which he was identified as the author of the parricide and among other data, he assured that his wife was then 16 years old and the son died, 18 months. According to the Honduran police, cited by this media, he allegedly attacked his son, wife and mother-in-law when they were sleeping and, although they did not have any reason for the crimes established then, they considered jealousy as a possible trigger.

Once the Spanish investigators verified the veracity of the information, they activated the channels of international police cooperation in matters of fugitives, in addition to requesting the issuance of an international arrest warrant.

Other fugitives arrested in Spain

So far this year, some of Europe's most wanted fugitives have fallen in Spain. In January, the National Police arrested Erick de Ventura Pacheco in Toledo, implicated in 36 crimes of drug trafficking, illegal detention, torture, threats and kidnapping. In February, agents arrested in Girona a French criminal who stole more than 11 million euros from armored vans in Switzerland, and in March, Andrea Dudla, a fugitive from justice for more than 10 years and convicted in Hungary for money laundering, fell in Madrid.