Mijas hit-and-run suspect cleaned his van with bleach, police say

The driver the police arrested on Monday on suspicion of the hit-and-run that killed 17-year-old Norwegian tourist Nikoline reportedly cleaned his van with bleach just hours after the incident on the A-7 motorway in Mijas.

The suspect, a 46-year-old Mijas resident, has been under investigation since the police found vehicle damage consistent with the accident.

Investigators believe that the man, who the local security forces are familiar with, ran over the young woman in the early hours of Monday, 6 July, and drove to his home in Calahonda, where he was seen cleaning his van with bleach.

When the police took his first statement, he denied his involvement in the hit-and-run. According to El Español, however, that statement contained "contradictions" that heightened suspicions.

According to sources close to the investigation, the police found glass fragments on the road at kilometre 1,027 of the motorway, where the accident occurred at approximately 5.20am on 6 July.

Investigators also located the victim's mobile phone in the area, allowing them to trace her last movements.

Nikoline left the Puerto Banús nightlife area in Marbella in a ride-hailing vehicle after partying with friends. She allegedly shared the vehicle with two other young people.

The driver of the ride-hailing vehicle was located immediately in the early stages of the case and has already given a statement to clarify the route. As SUR previously reported, Nikoline had asked him to let her out during the ride, in Mijas, close to an area of residential developments and hotels where she had been staying.

Over the past weekend, the Guardia Civil have taken numerous witness statements in order to reconstruct the victim's last movements and narrow down the search for the person responsible for the accident.

Nikoline had been on vacation in the Costa del Sol since 19 June and was scheduled to fly back to Norway on the Monday of the accident.

One of her friends told the family that she had last seen her between 3am and 4am at a nightclub in Puerto Banús. The Guardia Civil, however, told SUR that the young woman had not left alone.

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