Vicente Torres Roig, a man with a documented criminal past, left a trail of violence that spanned multiple cities and years. Born in the Balearic Islands, his life would take him from Alicante to Zaragoza, and eventually to a prison cell where a lengthy sentence was meted out. His history included repeated arrests for threats, resistance, disobedience, and assaults on authorities, signaling a pattern that would culminate in a brutal murder in 2016, resulting in a twenty-year prison term. The record shows several prior encounters with the law, underscoring a long-standing tendency toward violence rather than reform.
His first known victim, Carlos Sansaloni, was a resident of a municipal shelter and, on September 7, 2005, found himself on a pedestrian bridge at the edge of Alicante’s San Agustín district. What began as a tense exchange escalated quickly. The assailant left the scene as the victim slept, then returned armed with a large hoe. In a brutal attack, Sansaloni sustained severe injuries that cost him an eye, shattered his skull, jaw, and facial bones, and left him permanently deaf and visibly scarred. The attack led to a nine-year prison sentence, reflecting a history already marked by prior offenses and confrontations with authorities.
After his release, Torres Roig relocated to Zaragoza. Economic hardship persisted, and he rented a room in a modest dwelling on a street near the Delicias neighborhood. There, another shelter resident became entangled in his path. Reinaldo Lazaro, a 60-year-old man, became a victim in a conflict that arose when the accused contended with the victim over a television antenna issue, which deprived him of watching a program he favored. The dispute escalated swiftly, and the killer moved from the room into the living area, where the alleged aggressor confronted Lazaro with a kitchen knife.
The killing event and the motive
In the afternoon confrontation, the accused, enraged by the disruption to his viewing, shouted an insult and advanced on the victim. Lazaro’s defense was met with a brutal response: the assailant stabbed repeatedly—eight blows in total, five to the abdomen, two to the heart, and one to the liver. With the knife, the attacker pinned the victim by the neck, immobilizing him as the assault proceeded. The violent actions produced hemorrhagic shock and cardiac arrest, culminating in the victim’s sudden death before any chance of defense could be mounted. A passerby later witnessed the suspect leave the scene, muttering that the problem was resolved.
Torres Roig did not vanish for long. He was apprehended after lingering on a nearby bench, his clothes stained with blood. He attempted to discard the murder weapon, transferring it from the kitchen to his bedroom, but authorities recovered the knife from a municipal dump while tracing the crime’s movements.
DNA evidence
Investigators from the Homicide Squad confirmed that the recovered knife bore the victim’s blood and DNA, linking it directly to the crime. The genetic profile matched the evidence found at the scene, and the blade’s presence among garbage remains supported the timeline of the murder. The forensic findings formed a crucial pillar in establishing the case against the defendant.
Psychologists from the Aragon Institute of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Sciences describe a profile marked by social alienation in a violent environment. They note that while such factors may explain behavior, they do not absolve accountability for the acts committed. In the case of Torres Roig, a sequence of early conduct issues progressed into a broader personality pattern, influenced by factors including limited education and weak social integration.
The psychological assessment aligned with court testimony indicating that the 51-year-old man from San José de Talaia sought to justify the killings as legitimate defense in some moments, yet acknowledged his role in both the earlier attempted murder on the bridge and the later homicide on Domingo Ram Street. The defense’s argument, supported by the defense attorney, centered on threats perceived by the defendant that prompted his violent responses. The prosecution maintained a death by treason narrative, arguing that the proceedings demonstrated a clear intent to kill beyond self-defense.
Ultimately, the presiding judge declared a twenty-year sentence in light of the crime’s gravity and aggravating factors such as recidivism. The court reasoned that this penalty represented the minimum prescribed by the Criminal Code for a crime combining homicide with recidivist behavior, and it reflected the severity warranted given the circumstances surrounding the Alicante case.