“I lost contact with my son on August 28, 2020; we exchanged messages on WhatsApp that day.” Peggy Cabrera, mother of 25-year-old Daniel Canga, spoke through tears. She would not hear from him again until September 18, when his body was recovered from a dumpster. An autopsy pointed to polytrauma affecting the skull, chest, and abdomen. The authorities did not rule out foul play, noting the possibility of homicide (Mossos d’Esquadra statements cited in ongoing investigations).
Researchers considered two main theories: either he was attacked and discarded, or he entered the container himself and died by suicide. The second option unsettled his family, prompting questions about how a person could end up inside a waste container. The Barcelona Court opened a formal case on March 7, but left the questions unresolved as the investigation continued.
A body at ECOPARC 2
Call followers reported: “We found a body at ECOPARC 2.” The Mossos d’Esquadra received the alert on August 30, 2020 at 21:07. A worker at the Montcada i Reixac waste facility alerted authorities. Police units converged on the scene. The provisional assessment described a dark-skinned male in his early to mid-twenties, with signs of violence, lying among bags and debris. While visible injuries suggested trauma, the exact cause remained unclear without a full autopsy. The deceased had no documents and his identity was unknown at the scene.
“Uncle, where are you?”
Víctor Daniel Canga, known as Dani to family and friends, had lived in Spain for thirteen years after arriving from Ecuador. He completed secondary school but did not continue with further studies. He was known for his warm smile and close relationship with his mother. Recently, he had moved to a new apartment in Eixample, Barcelona, in search of a cheaper place to live.
Some linked the move to financial pressures; others suspected longer-standing tensions in the building. A former coworker mentioned that Dani had run-ins with certain residents. Peggy recalls seeing Dani’s belongings locked away after a recent visit, and she heard that some classmates had taken food and clothing.
Una jobless period followed; he paid several months of rent and did maintenance work in his old building. A friend who also worked there invited him for a drink after work on Thursday, August 29. After finishing up, Dani sent a message to a relative: “Uncle, where are you?” He left the apartment after 2:00 a.m. and never reappeared.
In the trash
During the first days of September, social networks amplified a poster bearing Dani’s image and the disappearance date, September 9. Anne, a family member, recalls being blamed by some for believing he was simply out partying, a narrative she challenged publicly.
“Did Mossos check the morgue promptly?”
Peggy describes a long, emotional search for Dani in person. She recalls visiting police stations and asking if her son had been found in the morgue. The response, she says, was disquieting: hospitals and morgues are typically the first places checked after a missing-person report. Finally, on September 18, the family received confirmation that the body found in the dumpster was Dani. Peggy still bears the image of him lying on the floor, surrounded by garbage, a stark reminder of the day his life ended.
From Ecuador to Barcelona’s streets
Peggy notes that Dani’s girlfriend at the time called urgently, trying to reach him. Investigators reconstructed his last movements: he was socializing with friends, then left to meet others, and was last heard from in the early hours of August 30. The evidence pointed to a complex sequence of events, including the possibility that he was alive after leaving the friend’s home and that he died while moving through the city.
Investigators collected testimony from Dani’s companions that night. One friend claimed Dani left the apartment with another young woman, while that young woman asserted she stayed behind. Conflicting statements became part of the case, with investigators noting inconsistencies in recollections and delays in reporting certain details. A key moment involved Dani’s Ecuadorian girlfriend, who later said she urgently tried to contact him. Peggy recalls the tension between accounts and the difficulty of piecing together a clear timeline.
Two card transactions, two early hours
The inquiry established that Dani left the house and wandered through various Barcelona streets. Calls and messages from that night could not be traced to his phone, which remained missing. Investigators did determine that his phone last pinged near Rocafort street at 2:57 a.m., while Dani’s friends did not use their phones that morning, complicating the trace. A disturbing banking detail emerged: two small store purchases in the early hours indicated the card had been used after he left the apartment, followed by a failed attempt at 6:40 a.m. About fifteen hours later, his body was located in a dumpster. The vehicle that collected the load was documented as having removed the container that day.
Injuries and the autopsy findings
Autopsy results revealed extensive injuries—more than fifteen wounds across the face and body, with fractures to the humerus, femur, and pelvis, a skull fracture, several broken ribs, and swelling of the brain. The coroner concluded that most injuries occurred while Dani was alive. The report noted that such wounds could result from repeated blows with a blunt object, possibly a long, hard tool or stick.
The case generated two main hypotheses: Dani could have been under the influence and entered the container voluntarily or by accident, or someone attacked him and dumped his body. Peggy remains skeptical of the suicide theory, asking why Dani would choose such an end, given his personality and family ties.
The undercurrent of Latin groups
Peggy was told there could be involvement from a Latino gang, though Dani did not show defensive injuries and appeared not to have been involved with any gang. The notion of suicide was also discussed, but Peggy questions the possibility, insisting there must be another explanation that can answer the questions left by the evidence. The investigation highlighted the time gap between 2:00 a.m. on August 30 and 9:07 a.m. when his body was found, suggesting the body remained in a container long enough to be transported to a disposal site. The court noted that the case has produced many inquiries but has not yielded a definitive conclusion. The matter remained open and unresolved as of the latest docket.