The Homicide Group of the National Police continues its work to identify the woman whose body was found inside a suitcase that was abandoned for months on a semi-hidden property near Espedrigada Street, about 500 meters from the Balaídos Stadium.
Following the preliminary autopsy, investigators have gathered specific details about the body. The deceased is estimated to be in her late forties to around fifty years old, though certain clues point to someone younger. She was of short stature, and the cause of death was a single stab wound to the heart.
These elements are not enough to determine the victim’s identity, nor to identify the killer. To advance the inquiry, agents sent samples from this grayish trolley-style suitcase and the plastics surrounding it to Madrid in search of fingerprints that could illuminate the case.
Forensic pathologists who conducted the autopsy this past Friday directed some bone material to the Institute of Forensic Anthropology in Verín, under the leadership of the expert Dr. Fernando Serrulla, for greater precision on questions related to the body’s identity and other matters connected to the investigation.
The advanced level of decomposition and putrefaction prevented the experts from clearly confirming whether the woman bore defensive injuries that might indicate a struggle or other marks of a potential larger attack. It has also been confirmed that the time of death falls between six and eight months, a period that aligns with the body’s current condition.
A neighbor living next to the property where the suitcase was found recalled that August was the month when the gray-brown suitcase appeared in the area. Another local resident noted that initially the suitcase was located at the building entrance, later moved to the exterior and ultimately placed in a spot described by residents as a dumping ground.
Regarding her build, decomposition makes precise assessment difficult, but it is clear the woman was very short in stature. The suitcase showed the body completely flexed inside, which allowed the aggressors to insert her entirely rather than dismembering her, as was initially suspected when the discovery was made.
Currently, the city is aware of two missing women. The case has also reached Portugal, where searches began in October for a 31-year-old woman, Mónica Silva, given the roughly two-hour distance from Vigo to Murtosa, where she disappeared.
Citations: Police reports and forensic findings summarized by the National Police and Verín Institute of Forensic Anthropology.