He was killed while imprisoned. His name was David Hernández, he was 18 years old, and he was murdered in Laguna de Duero, Valladolid, in the early hours of April 16, 2020. The crime occurred more than three years and eight months ago. His body showed multiple injuries, including several bumps and stabs, one aimed at the head, likely fatal. Authorities reported no clear criminal motive and said there were no witnesses who could contribute further facts. The president of the 3rd Instruction Court of Valladolid decided that the case should remain open, creating a provisional file in the investigation.
“I had dreamt of this for a long time, but I refused to believe it and expected the perpetrators would be caught soon,” lamented David’s mother, Lorena, as she faced an open case. She had asked for justice for her son in this difficult environment just a year earlier. The struggle continues, and she and others involved have already filed objections. “We are waiting for an answer.” Lorena and David’s family are seeking a reopening, possibly due to a missing analysis of a crucial test. A knife that agents collected from the park where the body was found remains at issue.
Three years ago
“Your brother hasn’t arrived, has he? If he doesn’t arrive by eleven, we’ll call the police,” one of the family members told a journalist. Lorena’s daughter, Carolina, and the elder siblings had three children between them. They had been strolling along the street in Laguna de Duero when David had not returned home. After singing a birthday song to his sister the night before, the young man left in haste, replying to his mother that he had to go out. Hours passed with no news.
The family waited and eventually said they would call the police at eleven. They received a notification five minutes after hanging up on their daughter: a WhatsApp message showing a body near a lake. “His jacket, his tracksuit and his face were present in the image,” Lorena recalls. The body lay on the ground, and she recognized her son at once.
“I have to go down,” said the mother. The question of why he left home remained unanswered. There were no indications of a meeting or confrontation. “I remember it was around 1 a.m., after he sang the birthday song to his sister, and he told me he had to come downstairs. I told him not to go, to stay in bed, and he insisted that he had to leave. I went downstairs after him because he seemed very nervous. He wasn’t pursuing anything; he simply left and never returned.” Lorena went back home, tried to write messages, and waited for a reply from him. He did not respond. She set out again around two in the morning, searched the surroundings, and found nothing. Late that night she kept calling and texting, and then the phone finally rang again.
Dawn arrived, and Lorena returned to the street with a sense of helplessness. “I even bought some cake,” she says, certain that her son would come back safe. The opportunity to search continued in familiar places near the road, but no trace appeared. “We told my daughter and gave ourselves until eleven o’clock,” she adds. That is when the WhatsApp photo arrived again.
“His tracksuit, his jacket… We will never forget those items,” Lorena adds. After seeing the image, the family went to the Civil Guard. There was uncertainty about whether the person pictured was alive, but a guard recognized the documents and confirmed that the young man in the photo was David.
Defended himself
The body was found on the same morning. Lorena’s calls to her son went unanswered, reported a rescuing witness who spotted someone near the sports center. The witness did not know the identity of the person, and the Civil Guard arrived with medical personnel, cordoning off the area. David had multiple wounds and was wearing only one shoe, with the other lying a short distance away. He had no documents, only a lighter and a switched-off phone remained. Despite efforts to resuscitate him, he had been lifeless for several hours. He died in close proximity to his home.
David woke up to blows. The assailant had two stab wounds on the side in addition to the wound on the head. Lorena, taking a deep breath, explains that the family was told he had bruises and defensive wounds, suggesting that David had defended himself against an aggressor.
“He was smiling, humorous, compassionate, and hardworking,” remembered by many in Laguna. The family has kept up the hope of obtaining justice and identifying the person responsible. Over three years later, there is still no closing answer, yet trust remains that the case is being actively pursued by investigators. The family continues to push for accountability, insisting that the pursuit of truth remains ongoing and unattached to a singular theory, with a belief that witnesses could still come forward. There is no decisive motive yet, but the case remains open with state investigators still engaged, and Lorena remains determined to uncover the full story and secure closure for her son.