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File image of a previous robbery using this method in a street in the centre of Malaga. SUR
Police investigate two more robberies in Malaga city centre that were carried out using the 'mataleón' technique
Crime

Police investigate two more robberies in Malaga city centre that were carried out using the 'mataleón' technique

Investigators suspect the same method was used to rob the elderly American tourist found dead in his holiday accommodation last week

Juan Cano

Malaga

Monday, 27 January 2025, 16:35

National Police officers in Malaga are investigating two robberies from earlier this January, where two young people used the 'mataleón' technique to attack their victims. It is not yet known whether the attacks, which took place on 10 and 12 January, were carried out by the same pair of young people. The police have suspicions that the robbery that took the life of an 80-year-old American tourist at his rented flat on 20 January involved the same technique.

The 'mataleón' technique involves grabbing the victim from behind, wrapping an arm around their neck and applying pressure until the victim is unconscious, which can lead to serious brain damage and even death.

In recent years, robberies using this method have increased considerably in Spain. They are usually committed by young people who act in pairs: while one holds the target, the other quickly searches them to snatch their belongings, usually their mobile phone and wallet.

Malaga has not been immune to this trend. The National Police force is investigating two assaults committed in the centre of Malaga, with just 48 hours between them. Both were committed by two young people, although it is not known whether they are the same perpetrators or two different couples.

The first of these cases happened on 10 January on Calle Echegaray. During the early hours of the morning, the thieves approached the male victim and, after grabbing him by the neck, snatched all his personal belongings. According to police sources, the victim did not lose consciousness.

The second case took place just two days later, on 12 January, on Calle Atarazanas. The modus operandi was practically the same as the previous one: two individuals approached a young man by surprise and, after immobilising him, took his belongings. As in the previous case, the victim did not lose consciousness.

Signs of asphyxiation

These two cases are somewhat connected to the case of the 80-year-old American tourist found dead on Tuesday 21 January. The police's main hypothesis is a robbery using the same technique, as the autopsy of the body showed signs of asphyxiation.

As SUR has learned, the man, from Massachusetts, had arrived in Malaga on the day he was killed, Monday 20 January, and had intended to spend a week's holiday, touring the Costa del Sol. He had booked the ground floor of a block of three tourist flats in Calle Viento, between Carretería and La Goleta, doing so through a tourist agency.

Everything suggests that he was assaulted as soon as he arrived at the building and that the perpetrator(s) of the robbery grabbed him by the neck to immobilise him and then took his belongings. The victim was carrying at least one suitcase and a rucksack with his personal belongings and documentation when he arrived.

The exact time of death is pending, while the autopsy is still being carried out, but witness testimonies gathered in the neighbourhood suggest that it could have been around 9pm. A neighbour heard a man screaming "as if he was being killed", she stated in her statement to SUR.

The woman said she could hear the screams going for about 10 minutes, so she looked out of the window to find out where they were coming from. She even went upstairs to ask another resident of the building if she had also heard them. Given that the neighbour in question said she hadn't heard anything and that their street would usually become a stage for a "racket" at night, she decided not to notify the police.

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surinenglish Police investigate two more robberies in Malaga city centre that were carried out using the 'mataleón' technique