Body found under concrete in Alicante believed to be businessman Jesús Tavira; three arrested
National Police located a body buried under concrete in a flat in the Bacarot area on Tuesday, allegedly that of Jesús Tavira, who disappeared on 18 March.
Body under concrete in Bacarot: Tavira's disappearance points to homicide
National Police located a corpse buried under concrete in a flat in the Alicante neighbourhood of Bacarot on Tuesday, according to police sources who confirmed this to media outlet Ideal. Investigators arrived at the property following the trail of Jesús Tavira, a 63-year-old businessman who disappeared on 18 March and a key witness in the trial over the murder of the widow of the former president of Caja Mediterráneo.
Official identification of the body remains open due to its advanced state of decomposition, although all indications point to the remains belonging to Tavira. National Police are expected to confirm the identity on Wednesday through DNA testing and fingerprint comparison.
Three arrested for the crime
In the course of the investigation, officers have arrested three people for their alleged involvement in the death of the businessman: an employee of the vehicle business that Tavira ran, the employee's wife, and a third individual, according to the same police sources.
Tavira's disappearance came to public attention days after 18 March, when his Audi Q5 was found burnt out in the Virgen del Remedio neighbourhood. The discovery of the destroyed vehicle raised alarm among his family and reinforced the hypothesis of violent intervention by third parties. The missing persons association SOS Desaparecidos then circulated his photograph and physical details to gather information about his whereabouts.
Link to the CAM widow case
Tavira's disappearance has taken on a special dimension owing to its connection to one of the most notorious cases in Alicante's crime chronicle: the murder of María del Carmen Martínez, widow of Vicente Sala, former president of the Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo (CAM).
The crime took place on 9 December 2016 in the wash bay of the Novocar dealership in Alicante. The sole accused was Miguel López, the victim's son-in-law, who was acquitted following trial.
Tavira, owner of a scrapyard near the dealership, maintained a years-long business relationship with López. During the preliminary investigation into the case, it emerged that the two had held numerous telephone conversations in the months before the murder.
At trial, Tavira testified to having seen two strangers acting suspiciously in the vicinity of the dealership on the day of the events. His testimony strengthened the defence's theory regarding the possible presence of third parties at the scene of the crime and proved especially relevant to López's acquittal.
Ongoing investigation
The investigation is now focused on completing the picture of a disappearance that began with a car set alight in Virgen del Remedio. The discovery of the body buried under concrete in Bacarot and the three arrests made so far mark the current endpoint of that search, pending forensic evidence to confirm the identity of the deceased.
Source: Ideal