Two brothers-in-law confess to killing Diakina Fofana in a case tied to an unlicensed taxi ride
Two men, detained initially on suspicion of killing Diakina Fofana and disposing of her body in a well, eventually confessed that they were responsible for her death. Investigators say the motive arose over a 25 euro charge in a dispute while the men were riding in an unlicensed taxi vehicle.
Early inquiries indicated that Fofana, who lived in the area and worked in the fields, occasionally drove as an informal taxi operator without a proper license. He transported the two men from Ecla to Jumilla, assisting with a ride that did not require formal passenger licensing.
According to the inquiries, Fofana’s passenger vehicle was operated without official authorization. The suspects testified that both brothers-in-law boarded the car to move from one municipality to another. Upon reaching their destination, the driver allegedly requested a sum the passengers felt was excessive, triggering the confrontation that ended in tragedy.
Brothers-in-law blame each other as the crime unfolds
A violent argument followed, escalating until one of the brothers-in-law produced a knife and attacked Fofana, a 43-year-old Malian resident of the community. The confrontation left Fofana fatally injured, and the two suspects claim the victim was accidentally punctured during the scuffle.
“We accidentally punctured it”
The suspects now recall that the fight started in front of Fofana’s vehicle and that they cannot clearly remember many details. They do recall that the quarrel reached a point where they blamed one another for the crime, acknowledging that both were involved to some degree and that the outcome was deadly.
Shortly after, the two brothers-in-law were moved to Sangonera prison, where they were placed in a shared cell. They admitted to the act of attacking Fofana and subsequently hiding his body to prevent discovery. The search for the victim intensified as investigators located a discarded body in a ruined farmhouse’s cistern in the area known as Término de Arriba, Jumilla, where the remains were retrieved by specialized underwater recovery experts.
The man known as Malili is said to have worked as a driver for hire, transporting passengers under informal arrangements. In the days after Fofana vanished, Malili parked on a street and did not return to his usual route, an absence that added to the concern among friends in the community. Fofana, who had lived in the Altiplano region for more than thirty years, had left Mali for family reasons over fifty days earlier and was trying to resume sending money home after a visit with his wife and children, who remained in Mali. When the disappearance began to attract attention, friends who knew him in Murcia urged authorities to help locate him, convinced that his absence was not voluntary. The investigation continued with close collaboration between local police and regional investigators, aiming to reconstruct the sequence of events and establish a clear timeline of the crime (Law enforcement reports, authorities).