strangulation marks
The National Police in Valencia are awaiting the final autopsy results to determine whether the death of the eighty-year-old priest Alfonso Lopez Benito involved an honorific canonry or was a crime. The current assessment hinges on tissue analysis to confirm whether the death was caused by mechanical drowning or another form of asphyxia. If the oxygen deprivation came from direct neck pressure, the handkerchief found near the body could have created the strangling effect that ended the life.
Initial reports from Lift-EMV indicate that the priest lay on his back in his bed, dressed only in underwear and covered up to the torso. The primary clothing item linked to the scene is this fabric material.
strangulation marks
While asphyxiation has not yet been definitively proven, another possibility remains on the table. The theory suggests the priest could have been suffocated by covering his mouth and nose with an object until death. Some early observations have led investigators to consider murder by drowning as a possibility from the outset.
Following these medical opinions, the murder squad of the Valencian National Police swiftly advanced the case, solving it within a day after the body was discovered. A forty-year-old man of Peruvian nationality was arrested, with the police confirming the arrest this Wednesday in their digital edition.
The suspect, in custody since Wednesday afternoon, remains in detention at the Zapadores police complex and has not given a statement. He is not expected in court until Saturday morning, at the earliest.
Money withdrawn from accounts
Reliable sources indicate that the arrested individual faces murder charges along with accusations of fraud for withdrawing funds from the priest’s bank account. The publication previously reported that the prisoner had a sexual relationship with the priest and lived in the priest’s home for several days, a pattern observed in earlier cases.
Reports describe a situation where men aged between 20 and 40, living in social exclusion, were brought to the priest’s residence for monetary exchange. This pattern prompted complaints from parishioners and intervention from the Archdiocese, despite the deceased cleric’s prior disregard for higher authorities’ concerns. The evolving narrative has raised questions about the priest’s conduct and the implications for the community.
Second home inspection
Meanwhile, investigators from the Science Police’s Forensic Eye Inspection group returned to the archdiocese residence at 22 Avellanas Street in Valencia for a fresh look at the crime scene. The residence includes a modest chapel and had been the focus of a preliminary inspection following the body’s discovery.
Experts in crime scene processing and analysis conducted a thorough reinspection after the body was removed and parts of the residence reviewed. The arrest of a forty-year-old man from South America was the central development reported by Lift-EMV, and investigators continued to examine the scene to establish motives and sequence of events.
T. Domínguez. Valencia
The Archdiocese of Valencia issued a statement expressing condolences to the priest’s family and reaffirming its commitment to clarity in the case, noting it is cooperating with the Valencian Court of Investigation No. 19, which is conducting proceedings with a special prosecutor. That status would permit access to all judicial steps. However, since the archdiocese is not the victim’s direct family, its role would be limited to filing a popular accusation if it chooses to participate. The court has not yet ruled on this matter.