It is judged that JT unlawfully detained him in June 2013. A ruling by the First Division of the High Court in Almería states: ‘While violence is used in any case, without detailing the exact method, JT forced Juan Antonio Sánchez to comply with his will, seizing his car and the belongings he carried.’
He trailed her from a nightclub to her car and made her vanish. Cold, sealed in silence. He has been serving his sentence for nine years. ‘What happened early on December 20, 2009, with the body of Juan Antonio Sánchez?’ He remains silent, closing as a group.
There is no body, but there is a crime. ‘They were taken from us that night. We have no hope, it’s clear he killed her. but we must find him, bury him,’ laments Maribel, the sister-in-law of Juan Antonio’s partner.
One of Juan Antonio Sánchez’s biggest hobbies was traveling. The family has kept his CASE OPEN, in memory.
December thirteen years ago
He was 38, held a steady job, lived a quiet life, and enjoyed strong family ties. Juan Antonio lived in El Ejido but had planned dinner with friends in Almería. ‘It was Saturday, December 19,’ Maribel recalls. ‘After they finished, some left for Granada. He stayed with two friends and went to the Oliveros bar, a familiar place. Juan Antonio was openly gay.’ She decided to part ways around 2 a.m., planning to meet other friends for lunch the next day.
He said goodbye to the group, left the bar, and walked toward his car, nearby at most two to three hundred meters. They never saw him again.
Monday: Not Juan Antonio
‘Is your brother okay? He didn’t call, his phone was off, and he didn’t show up for work.’ The call came on Monday. ‘He worked in a real estate consultancy. He was reliable, punctual, and responsible,’ explains his sister-in-law. ‘That is where the search began. Alarms were raised and kept active. After thirteen years, the search continues.’
The first posters warning about Juan Antonio Sánchez’s disappearance were put up.
‘I saw his car yesterday, driven by a Moroccan,’ a family friend remarked.
‘We looked everywhere around,’ she recalls. A family friend offered a tip: ‘I did see his car yesterday; a Moroccan was behind the wheel, and I found it surprising it wasn’t there anymore.’ She described the moment as unsettling. ‘Her friends, whom she had planned to meet on Sunday, said she didn’t go.’ The family immediately informed the National Police.
Initial complaints were not accepted. ‘For adults, a 72-hour grace period was expected before action,’ he insisted. ‘There were reports of a car, a sighting, yet nothing solid.’ It wasn’t until Tuesday, after his disappearance on a Sunday, that protocol kicked in.
‘Do you know if he met people from time to time?’ asked a man at a local bar. ‘The agents asked.’
They filed the complaint, creating a record: a 38-year-old male, who is gay. Parents questioned whether psychological issues were involved, but relatives insisted otherwise. ‘He was clear, he was candid about his life. There was no reason to disappear,’ they said, and investigators looked into his relationships and daily routines.
The record of the last verifiable location where Juan Antonio was seen places him at Drácena pub in a familiar Almería setting. Surveillance footage showed someone following him from behind, prompting investigators to widen the net. A Moroccan national identified as JT had a controversial track record, including theft, allegations linked to prostitution, and prior deportation orders; later reports hinted at a possible earlier case involving another missing minor in 2007. He was briefly detained, released without charge, and became a focal point of the investigation.
‘What did you do with the Spanish?’
Maribel remembers the investigation taking a troubling turn, with the case summary treated as a sealed document. ‘We hoped for progress, but progress came with sharp focus on Moroccans,’ she notes. The farmhouse on the town’s outskirts is described as a scene, with witnesses saying JT arrived in a black Audi A3 at night, a Spaniard driving. Maribel recalls her earlier statements, detailing the slip of memory and the uncertain faces seen that night—an account that hardened into certainty for some.
‘The neighbors at the farmhouse said a pack of Marlboro cigarettes was tossed from a jacket, and the instruction to buy Spanish tobacco was given.’
They described a five-minute stop at the farmhouse, then a drive away in the Moroccan’s car. The accounts speak of cleaning, blood in the car, and a tense exchange with locals about who owned the vehicle. Maribel repeats the phrase, ‘Smoke Spanish tobacco,’ as a stark memory from those early hours.
Benjamin, the same name, different man
Evidence and testimonies pointed to JT as the prime suspect. His prior criminal history, a resemblance to another missing person connected to a separate case, and the discovery of personal belongings with the Moroccan during the investigation built the case. ‘Perhaps Juan Antonio would be here today if he had been kept behind bars earlier,’ Maribel laments.
The investigators noted a consistent pattern: two men, both possessing same-sex orientation, and JT frequently being the last person seen in contact with others who later vanished. The team attempted to join the two cases by tracing Juan Antonio’s car, personal belongings, and the absence of the other missing boy’s body, while JT’s possessions—documents, sunglasses, a cell phone, and a vehicle—came under closer scrutiny.
Juan Antonio appears in a family photo. On the right, JT is seen in court.
Maribel recalls the trial beginning on a spring day in 2013. The accused denied all charges. The court sentenced him to twenty-five years and nine months in prison, allocating ten years for each victim, one year for theft, one year and nine months for forging official documents, and three years for violent theft.
Silence remains his companion
Pain, frustration, and rage define the corridor of memory. ‘He’s been imprisoned for nine years and has revealed nothing about the missing people,’ Maribel laments. ‘When half his sentence is served, he may be granted leave if his behavior holds. It’s infuriating that a person with that record could be released so easily.’
Friend, son, brother—he was the youngest of six and the ideal brother-in-law. He loved traveling and always planned the next trip. The missing never speak, so the family continues the search in hope and memory, determined to find a trace of what happened to Juan Antonio and to uncover the fate of the other missing boy.