Malaga landlord death: murder perpetrator tattooed victim the night before

The night before Víctor's murder passed without incidents: the four flatmates were drinking beers while the confessed perpetrator tattooed them. He tattooed a Charlie Chaplin on the victim's arm. Less than 24 hours later, one of the flatmates found their landlord dead in the tattoo artist's bedroom and alerted the emergency services.

It was 12.15am on 12 April when the witness photographed Víctor's tattoo. At 7.15am, he went to work, leaving Víctor drinking.

That morning, some of Víctor's acquaintances recalled seeing him in the neighbourhood, seemingly agitated.

When the flatmate returned from work, he found him lying face down on the floor in a pool of blood.

The suspect told him that the landlord had fallen. When the other flatmate called the emergency services, he received instructions on how to try to resuscitate him. The perpetrator followed them.

Upon arrival, the paramedics confirmed the death was of violent origin and mobilised the National Police. They found traces of blood on the suspect's hands.

Still at the scene, he admitted that they had gotten into a fight and that the situation had escalated. The body showed severe facial trauma and signs of asphyxiation. The police arrested the confessed perpetrator and took the other two flatmates to the station headquarters where they gave statements as witnesses.

SUR spoke to one of the flatmates, who prefers to remain anonymous. He said they were getting along as best they could. It wasn't the first time he'd shared a home with Víctor and he was familiar with the landlord's substance abuse problems.

Although he admitted it hadn't been easy, he would always try to calm Víctor down, seeing the human side of him. "I considered him a friend," he said, saddened and still in shock.

Víctor grew up with his parents and sisters on the tenth floor of the building in the Miraflores de los Ángeles area in Malaga. He received an education, earned a degree and rose to a prominent position.

Those who knew him, however, knew that he suffered from addiction. At 60, he still lived in the family home and rented out spare rooms to earn extra money. His neighbours said he was "kind" and "polite" when he was "sober". Unfortunately, "he made living with him very difficult" when under the influence of substances.

The president of the homeowners' association told SUR that he would sometimes "push" Víctor to leave behind the dark world he was immersed in. Víctor "would start crying".

"He wasn't a bad person, he had a good heart," the neighbour said. Other residents said they rarely spoke with Víctor and that he would often change flatmates. "We knew this wasn't going to end well," they said.