He remembered Natalia MR, accused of killing her ex-boyfriend in what became known as the La Puebla crime. In the Monday session, the other defendant said that Augustín MA warned he would kill the victim, Juan Manuel, who had been the young woman’s partner. A burnt body was found inside a car in the summer of 2021. Natalia insists that Augustín is the culprit because she believes she accidentally ran over Juanmi, yet asserts that Augustín set the car on fire.
The Fifth Division of the Regional Court of Murcia, Cartagena opened the trial into the death on Monday, with the two suspects seated before the court. The prosecutor seeks higher sentences: 69 years in prison, 35 for Augustín and 34 for Natalia. Augustín maintains that Natalia planned the crime, while Natalia’s defense emphasizes that she fell victim to sexist violence and argues that Augustín treated her badly. The two blame each other.
Natalia, who wanted to answer questions from her lawyer Antonio Casado Mena after the lunch break, stated: Augustín harbored hatred toward Juanmi even before their relationship began.
“I took a shower 4-5 times to get rid of the blood.”
“Juanmi and I never stopped talking. We called each other.” Natalia said. She described ending her four-year relationship with Juanmi, reflecting on what lay ahead and where she would be as she moved forward.
“It made me sad not to be with him.”
She stayed with the man who would become her ex on the day of the crime. Natalia admitted that Augustín had called her several times on her mobile phone. They met that night to talk and be together. They met at his house, then went to a bar to buy tobacco. “We stayed there for a while,” she recalled. “We weren’t together, but it’s true that he talked to my family and me. It made me sad that I couldn’t be with him until her sister called to say Augustín was looking for her at the door.”
Augustín appeared with a tense expression and drove in a manner that Natalia remembered. “Seeing the situation, I stood between them and Augustín approached,” she recounted. A confrontation escalated into a fight with fists and kicks, and he took the car keys and drove away.
“I got in the car, they got in, they started screaming all the way,” Natalia said. She recalled that two men constantly hit each other, and she even felt the ground to avoid seeing the violence. She wanted to leave, but Augustín got into her car and stayed there with her as they drove away. It was a rural area where visibility was poor. Natalia noted she has diopters and wears glasses and contact lenses. She claimed that she accidentally hit Juanmi while driving as Augustín shouted at her, saying, “I hit him with my car.”
Between Natalia and Augustín, Juanmi was placed in the back of the vehicle. Natalia asserted that Augustín was starting to feel remorse as Juanmi had struck him and could not speak. She stressed that Augustín was the one who set the car on fire.
“I was afraid he might kill me, just as he did Juanmi,” Natalia said. “I showered four or five times to wash away the blood.” Five or six hours later, police arrived.
Augustín’s statement
At one twenty in the afternoon, accompanied by a facilitator, Augustín began to testify. He is described as having a 43 percent disability and acknowledges that Natalia played a role in his life. He stated that arrangements were in place and that if he hadn’t complied, he would have been humiliated and threatened.
The night Juan Manuel died, Augustín said he received a call: “Let me do it my way.” He emphasized his reasoning clearly in the room. He claimed that Natalia asked for a wrench to break into a house because her mother had kicked them out, and the couple sought a secluded place where Natalia could be with the man who would later be killed. He described jealousy and suggested that Natalia had provoked the meeting to trigger a confrontation between her ex and him.
According to Augustín, the two fought, then got into Natalia’s car. He claimed Natalia drove, while Augustín urged them to go to a hospital because Juanmi was wounded. He said the journey shifted to a different location, where another fight followed. He alleged that Natalia remained the catalyst and that she drove the vehicle in pursuit of the victim until he was killed. He maintained that he himself placed the body and started the vehicle on fire after disposing of the body.
When Augustín saw the car burning, he was in shock. He insisted that he never intended to end Juan Manuel’s life and that he later altered his statement to protect Natalia, before recognizing she had used him to accomplish the act.
What does the prosecutor’s office say?
The Public Ministry’s account states that Natalia, then under eighteen, went to her ex-boyfriend Juan Manuel’s house at dawn. They moved into the car and drove to a remote area within the same district, where Natalia used the victim’s phone to call his partner. Augustín arrived on a bicycle. A fight ensued; the prosecutor says Augustín struck the victim’s head with a wrench and punched him repeatedly, causing bleeding. The three then got into the car: Augustín driving, Juan Manuel in the passenger seat, and Natalia in the back.
Juan Manuel remained alive at first. The attackers allegedly forced him into the car and used a lighter to burn him alive, with the clear aim to end his life and minimize any chance of defense, according to prosecutor Pilar Romera. The incident left the others seriously injured and unable to exit the vehicle on their own after the attack.
At a quarter to five in the morning, a neighbor woke to hear the car’s horn, and upon seeing the vehicle on fire, contacted the police and fire brigade.