The case surrounding the professor killed on Areal Street is nearing trial. The prosecution has filed a provisional accusation, charging the violent death of Benito Torreiro Sío, a 69-year-old Vigo resident, as homicide. The accused, a 23-year-old man from Monfortino, David Macía Castro, faces a total sentence request of 11 years and six months. The request comprises 10 years and a half for the homicide and an additional year for a continued fraud act taken together with a minor theft offense. This latter charge stems from alleged use of the victim’s bank cards to fund an escalating spree of purchases and cash withdrawals totaling close to 18,000 euros. The private prosecutors, representing the deceased two brothers, push for 18 years in prison by labeling the act as murder with cruelty, though they also present an alternative request of 14 years should the facts be classified as homicide rather than murder with cruelty.
After more than two years of judicial proceedings, the case now awaits the defense statement before the Fifth Section of the Pontevedra Provincial Court begins the process to select a jury panel that will hear the crime. The prosecutor has described the act as homicide, a crime carrying a typical prison term between 10 and 15 years. In this instance the defense argues for the minimum, applying a damage repair circumstance because the defendant, then 23 years old, already deposited nearly 38,000 euros to compensate the victim’s brothers as civil liability. The deceased, a retired teacher in early childhood education, was 69 at the time of the tragedy, remained unmarried and without children.
In the living room a shock
It has not been until January 4, 2022, that the authorities linked the crime to the events of December 29, following the routine stop of David Macía in a Guardia Civil checkpoint in Silleda. The sequence suggests the homicide occurred a few days earlier. The private prosecutors describe how the young man, who is believed to have had some form of relationship with the victim, visited Benito’s apartment on Areal Street. At a moment when the older man sat on the living room sofa, the accused allegedly struck him with one of the marble decorative spheres and then intensified the assault as the victim tried to flee toward the bedrooms. The autopsy notes at least 11 blunt-trauma injuries on the body. Once the victim was down, the attacker delivered 21 knifings across the neck, chest, cheek, and left ear, with additional wounds on the right hand likely indicating a failed defense attempt.
The violence culminated after the victim was left incapacitated. Macía is said to have taken a set of keys, a mobile phone, personal documents, and the professor’s bank cards, and over the next six days conducted a long string of purchases and withdrawals that nearly reached 18,000 euros. The latest charges were filed on January 4, the day the defendant was detained at a road checkpoint. Before spending the victim’s savings, he reportedly contacted the bank impersonating the deceased to request a higher credit limit on one of the stolen cards.
David Macía arrived in Vigo by train on December 26, 2021. He had been staying at a hotel in the days before the alleged crime, which investigators believe occurred on December 29. Reports indicate his movements kept him largely in Vigo and in surrounding areas, including Pontevedra and Ourense, with some time spent in Portugal. The prosecution asserts that the suspect used the money in ways that included two car purchases and payments for hotels, restaurants, department stores, and various service stations. A point of particular interest is a large purchase at a department store and the use of the funds at other daily expenses. In total, the authorities estimate the amount spent to be around 18,000 euros, with some sums adjusted after bank record reviews. The most expensive recorded purchase includes an Audi A6 at nearly 9,900 euros, and other substantial transactions occurred on December 30, alongside routine expenditures at eateries and service points. The investigation notes that DNA evidence and the phone’s location data ultimately led to the suspect’s confession.
As the case moves forward, the courtroom is set to evaluate whether the charges align with homicide or murder with cruelty. The path to jury selection will shape the next phase of proceedings in Pontevedra, revealing how the court interprets the sequence of events that brought the professor’s life to a tragic end. The narrative remains a stark reminder of the complex interplay between violent crime and the subsequent financial misuse of a victim’s resources, with the legal process aiming to balance accountability and civil restitution for the family.
End of summary