Under the aliases Bella and Dulce Ángel, and with the aid of obscene photographs, Hendangelin Candy Arrieta and associates used the Badoo social network to lure victims in the Pedrola area of Zaragoza. The abductees were surprised and subjected to forceful blows to extract possessions. Two witnesses could recount what happened, while a Basque businessman, known as Josetxu, was buried alive after the events. The case, referred to in the press as the Badoo crime, ended with the sentencing of the young seductress who acted as bait and her partner in the assaults, Mohamed Achraf, to thirty-four years in prison. The Supreme Court has just confirmed the verdict. The sentence reflects the proven facts and the strong evidentiary record presented during the trial, as noted by the high court in its ruling.
The central facts show that the accused woman engaged with the victim through the social platform. A 54-year-old resident of Getxo, Vizcaya, contacted her for a meeting in Zaragoza on September 6, 2019, and traveled there with the expectation of a date in the city where she lived with her partner.
After the encounter, the victim was unexpectedly restrained using restraints, his belongings were taken, and he was brutally beaten. He was coerced into decrypting his bank cards, with multiple withdrawals occurring between September 7 and 11. He was held from September 6 to September 8, bound and unable to defend himself. He endured blows to the head and chest and was kept isolated and powerless while the attackers continued to strip him of clothing and valuables. He was buried alive in a shallow grave, a fate that ended the victim’s life under extreme distress. The reporting outlet ARAGON NEWSPAPER, part of the Iberian Press group, summarized the incidents that way.
The two defendants have had their convictions for manslaughter upheld. Each was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the homicide, along with six years for unlawful detention, and three years for fraud connected to selling the victim’s Mercedes vehicle. The court also ordered them to pay damages: 185,000 euros to the victim’s son, 50,000 euros to the victim’s family, 19,000 euros to the victim’s siblings, and 11,000 euros to the fraud victim.
In its decision, the Court of Cassation highlighted the extensive, highly incriminating evidence that influenced the sentences and underscored the jury’s motivation to meet the legal standards. The Supreme Court affirmed that the reasons for the authorship and accountability of both defendants were clear and rational.
the other two victims
Julián and Florín were two additional victims of the same criminals, each receiving a 12-year sentence. Florín, a resident of La Almunia de Doña Godina, connected with one of the suspects in the afternoon of July 26, 2019, initially via the Badoo profile and later through WhatsApp. The other person provided a phone number and continued communications on the mobile app.
In Gallur, around 22:30, Florín was directed to a route through the town and approached a red Renault Clío by Arrieta. A silver-gray Mercedes was seen nearby. Once Florín entered the vehicle, Arrieta claimed she needed to go to her grandfather’s house to fetch a jacket, and she asked him to drive toward a secluded area near a bridge. The car lights were turned off, and when their location was reached, the attackers moved quickly. Florín resisted as a taser-like device discharged, weakening him. The group seized his valuables, blindfolded and bound him, and taped his face and neck, threatening with a knife.
The assailants attempted to place Florín in the trunk, but the car’s trunk was nonfunctional. He was moved to the front passenger seat while one attacker drove and others accompanied him, eventually forcing him into a reed-lined area. There they demanded the pin for his debit card and warned of consequences if the number was incorrect. After the attackers left, Florín managed to escape and sought help from local civil guards in Gallur, who initiated an investigation.
The same methods were used against Julián, a 58-year-old divorced businessman from Tudela. He had agreed to meet a person sighted through unsettling photographs and traveled to Pedrola for the encounter. Candy, accompanied by her boyfriend, waited at the station. Prosecutor Rafael Soteras described how they struck him with a key, fractured his shin, restrained him, and placed him in the car trunk. A gun was shown, and his debit card was taken, along with cash totaling 650 euros, a watch, a cell phone, and prescription glasses. One of the accomplices did not participate, as indicated by the investigation.