His central argument centers on his four children, three of whom are minors, who have endured a precarious situation since his imprisonment. He insisted that he would not flee and that he was cooperating with justice. Jesús Pradales, held in makeshift detention, stands accused of murdering his partner, Juana Canal. Her dismembered remains were hidden in the house they shared in Madrid’s Ciudad Lineal district for nineteen years. He will remain incarcerated until the trial concludes.
Madrid County Court Chapter 23 – CASO ABIERTO, the Iberian Press Events and Investigation portal – rejected the appeal filed by Jesús Pradales and dismissed his request for conditional release of the investigation. The judges warned that he could face more than twelve years in prison.
Did not cooperate with justice
Pradales asserted that he had cooperated with investigators since his arrest. He claimed that he killed Juani but did not intend to, and that the act frightened him so deeply that it haunted him for almost two decades. He argued that the arrest violated his rights and that he should await trial on the street, surrounded by his family.
As CASO ABIERTO noted, in the summary he submitted for his release request, Pradales described a life that had collapsed: he stopped working because he was in prison, operated a hamburger and fries caravan, and a local fairground aid gadget that helped support the family. His wife struggled to care for the children, and the family’s finances were strained. He invoked his family background to assert that he would not flee. He spoke of his aging parents and his roots as part of his appeal.
He claimed to be cooperating with justice, though his statements came late and only after two hikers were arrested when they discovered Juana Canal’s remains in a family-owned field. He made two statements at the police station and then repeated a version for the judge, insisting that Juana died accidentally and that he loved her. He described an instance where, in his recounting, he stretched out an arm, was motionless with wide eyes, and had to act quickly because he had things to do in the car. He claimed he did not fear Juana would react, but admitted he went upstairs to fetch something and found her body on the floor.
Judges of the District Court of Madrid rejected the claim. They noted that from the moment of Juana’s death until her discovery, Pradales had taken no action other than concealing the crime, hindering any possibility of discovery for nineteen years.
Jesús Pradales was photographed during a search of a nearby farm where Juana’s remains were located. The image, provided by the press agency, is included to document the investigation.
The court emphasized that upon arrest and once the investigation concluded, the gravity of the case would be clear. Pradales himself admitted to attending events described as murder, a crime punishable by imprisonment of up to twelve years. Given the seriousness of the offense, the risk of flight was deemed inherent.
They also reminded that the individual under investigation had not been identified by security forces and that the body had not been discovered for nineteen years, underscoring the obvious risk of evasion and obfuscation of justice.
“I couldn’t be with him”
Pradales offered a customary explanation, arguing that the incident had happened before. Two days after his arrest near his home in Fuente el Saz de Jarama, he admitted to having pushed Juana on one occasion previously, but insisted nothing came of it. He asserted that the fatal event occurred on the night of February 23.
Two days after the arrest, a judge reminded him of his statements at the police station and asked whether he stood by them. He responded affirmatively, acknowledging that the first statement had been revised after changing lawyers and retracting earlier statements. He claimed Juana died accidentally, that he could not bear the consequences, and that he disposed of her body by placing it in a tub, cutting it into pieces, and packing the remains into suitcases.
He described taking steps to dispose of the body, expressing that he could not handle the situation. He recounted carrying Juana in his arms as if she weighed little, then realizing she was too heavy to move. He reported placing her remains in a tub, cutting the body from the hips up, and transporting the pieces in suitcases. He claimed to have cleaned the house and left a note before returning home, where he saw stained bathroom curtains and began cleaning them again.
Photographs capture Juana Canal beside the note found by her eldest son when he returned home.
Pradales also stated that he followed through with the steps to remove the body and then wrote a note before departing the home, leaving behind a scene that would later require investigation.
“He took medicine and left”
In a quizzical line, Pradales recounted a reunion where an argument had occurred and he claimed that Juana took a large amount of pills and left. He described the episode as troubling, and noted that after that moment he disappeared from everyone’s life. He started a new life, forming a new family, and in June of the same year began living with the woman who would become the mother of his children. He left a taxi behind, started a new life at a fair, and eventually fell silent.
Juana Canal, a 38-year-old mother of two from a previous marriage, had recently settled in Madrid’s Ciudad Lineal district. She had secured work and built a life with Jesús Pradales, a relationship that lasted about a year before her death in the early hours of February 23. Her remains were discovered three months after an Open Case report helped reinitiate the search. The location of the remains, found by hikers in 2019, was only disclosed to her family on June 28, 2022. For nineteen years, her children, siblings, and nephews kept searching for her.