The family of the Coín resident who was dismembered six years ago: 'This is a pain that eats away at you from the inside'

While awaiting the results of DNA analysis on the latest skeletal remains found to confirm the identity, his loved ones are simply asking for justice so that they can begin to heal: “This is a pain that eats away at you from the inside, that prevents you from living.”

At first, they wondered where he might be and who he might be with. But as soon as they entered his home and saw that his belongings were untouched and there was food in the fridge, they knew he had not left of his own accord. They reported the disappearance to the Guardia Civil, who launched a painstaking investigation that did not begin to yield results until five years later, when his skull was found by municipal workers in Alhaurín inside a manhole.

One of his sisters, visibly shaken during a conversation with SUR, still cannot understand what could have happened to lead to such an outcome for Francis (as she called him): ‘I know there was a fight, but things can be sorted out by talking. Nobody deserves to die like this. You’d have to be incredibly cold-blooded.” She wakes up as many as seven or eight times during the night; each time she wakes, she tries to convince herself that what happened to her brother was just a nightmare.

The harsh reality has taken a devastating toll on the family. Their only wish is that the confessed perpetrator, who is already in pre-trial detention, should pay for what he has done. However, Agüera’s sister maintains that the tragedy has affected both sides: ‘The family of the person who did this will also be suffering, and they are not to blame. We have nothing against them.’

The first breakthrough came in June 2025, when municipal workers found a skull inside a bag in a manhole in the Pinos de Alhaurín housing estate. Nine months later, DNA tests revealed that the remains belonged to Francisco José Agüera, and the Guardia Civil focused their investigations on the victim’s immediate surroundings.

Officers managed to corner the alleged perpetrator on Tuesday 28 July. He confessed to having killed Agüera at his home in Coín and to having dismembered the body in order to hide it. In addition, the suspect led the officers to the path alongside the Arroyo del Pinar stream, on the approach to the road leading to the quarries at Alhaurín de la Torre, where further skeletal remains were recovered; these are currently being analysed by the forensic laboratory. The case for the formal investigation will be handled by the preliminary investigation section in Malaga.