The Civil Guard is investigating the violent death of a 77 year old Belgian who was found dead in his home in the Orihuela hamlet of Torremendo. The body was found by a neighbour on Thursday in the garage of the house located on la carretera de las Canteras.
The neighbour was alerted by the garage door which had been open for several days. He decided to look inside, where he found the dead man lying on the floor, the body showing multiple signs of violence.
Both the Policia Local and the Guardia Civil attended the scene with the latter assuming jurisdiction, collecting samples and gathering evidence. A spokesman said that the man’s high-end Mercedes vehicle is missing so the main hypothesis is that the murder was committed during the vehicle’s theft.
The victim had been living in the centre of Torremendo for some time where residents, most of them expatriates, elderly, and in search of sun and a peaceful existence, are absolutely shocked by the recent events.
They say that the victim lived alone and that he had a great passion for music and, playing the keyboard in several venues frequented by foreign residents in Playa Flamenca and the Orihuela Costa.
“He didn’t mix with his neighbours very much but he did use the local doctor,” said one of the neighbours, who added that the man had been living in the house for more than a year.
In one Torremendo bar over the weekend, there was little talk of anything else. “We knew him by sight, because he used the bar occasionally, he was sociable, he spoke to everyone, but he didn’t mix with the rest of Torremendo’s residents,” said a client. Another added that “he lived with several parrots and he was known around the area because he played in a number of different venues in the area where foreign people go to dance”.
One British neighbour, who lives close to the victim’s house said that “we did not see or hear anything at all and we did not know him very well because he had not been living here for so long” adding that “he was kind to the neighbours and I hope they find the murderer soon.”
