Murder of the mayor of Polop in 2007: the documentary series that revisits the unsolved crime
Alejandro Ponsoda, mayor of Polop de la Marina, was shot at the door of his home in October 2007. RTVE has launched a documentary series about the case.
Three shots at close range and 18 years without a definitive answer
Eighteen years after Alejandro Ponsoda, mayor of Polop de la Marina, was shot at the door of his home on the night of 19 October 2007, the crime remains one of the most high-profile unsolved cases on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. According to Google News ES — Crime (es), RTVE Play has launched A Murder with a View. The Polop Case, a documentary series directed by Pablo Van Damme that reconstructs the facts and the lengthy judicial process that followed the crime.
Ponsoda received three shots at close range and died in hospital a week later. From the outset, the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Guardia Civil concluded that it was a contract killing and opened various lines of investigation: neighbourhood disputes, planning irregularities within the town council, and aspects of the mayor's private life.
The property boom as a backdrop
The crime occurred at the height of the property boom and corruption on the Mediterranean coast. The UCO considered two main motives: one related to planning, linked to an ambitious project for the expansion of Polop, and another of a more personal nature, based on hatred and envy of the victim. None of the lines of investigation made conclusive progress during the first two years.
The turning point came in November 2009, when six arrests were made: three alleged hitmen and three alleged accomplices, all with a common link: a nightclub in Benidorm known as the Club Mesalina, where the murder was allegedly planned. A mysterious figure from the underworld, identified in the investigation as "The Portuguese", reportedly told investigators about a meeting at that venue in which the murder of Ponsoda was arranged.
The arrest of the new mayor divides the town
Disbelief took hold of Polop when the identity of a seventh detainee was revealed: the new mayor of the municipality, identified as the alleged mastermind behind the murder of his predecessor. The arrest fractured the population between those who supported the arrested man and those who backed the victim's family.
At the same time, rumours began to circulate about an alleged double life of Ponsoda. For investigators, the sudden dissemination of that private information was an attempt to divert attention from the true perpetrators of the crime.
A protected witness at the centre of the plot
For almost a decade, the case revolved around the figure of a protected witness whose account placed the origin of the criminal contract at Club Mesalina. The defence teams of the accused worked systematically to discredit his testimony, which became the cornerstone of the entire investigation. The leak of his identity came close to jeopardising the progress of the investigation.
The trial began in January 2020, more than twelve years after the events. It attempted to unravel a web of distrust, conflicts, tensions, revenge and half-truths. All the accused were acquitted, leaving the crime formally without convicted culprits.
The testimonies featured in the series
A Murder with a View includes testimonies from Alejandro Ponsoda's daughters and people close to him, as well as some of the accused who were acquitted during the trial. The series addresses what happened before and after the night of the crime, with particular attention to the toll that the years of judicial proceedings took on those involved.
Pablo Van Damme's documentary production thus traces a story marked by ambition, property corruption, the underworld of Benidorm and the human consequences of a case which, two decades later, continues to offer no definitive answer as to who ordered the killing of the mayor of Polop de la Marina.
Source: Google News ES — Crime (es)