Follow-up report: new details emerge in Cantabria body-hiding investigation

Velasco's daughter (50) and son-in-law (60) are under investigation for alleged social security fraud, asset misappropriation, and neglect. The court has granted them conditional bail, ruling that, given their mental state, they pose no flight risk or danger to others.

There is nothing unusual around the house where the body was found - no cordon and no police tape. There is simply a "Beware of the dog" sign and another reading "No entry".

The house is barely visible from the road, tucked away at the end of a small cul-de-sac. Plastic bottles are scattered everywhere - hundreds, perhaps thousands. The ground is barely visible beneath the mountain of bottles, rubbish bags, and other waste piled around the property. Two cars have sat parked amid the filth for years.

Sisters Sonia and Ángeles González, who live nearby, raised the alarm after years of wondering what had happened to Velasco. They cannot remember the last time they saw him, but they know it has been years.

At the time, Velasco was 88 years old, used a wheelchair, and was awaiting cataract surgery. Then, one day, he simply vanished.

When neighbours asked his daughter and son-in-law what had happened to him, the couple insisted that "he was fine, at home, in bed" and that the cataract surgery was no longer going ahead.

Something did not add up. "I promise you, I never thought he was dead. We did think he wasn't being looked after, though," said Sonia, speaking from her own experience as her mother's carer.

She constantly saw the couple out and about. "They were always coming and going, laden with bags." If Velasco was in a similar state to her mother, "who was looking after him?" they wondered.

That concern ultimately proved decisive. Sonia and Ángeles's mother had recently suffered a stroke, so they visited Social Services. While there, they took the opportunity to ask directly about Velasco. "The police arrived the very next day," Sonia said.

That was not the first warning sign. Around five years ago, a social worker phoned Sonia and Ángeles because she had been trying to reach Velasco's house and no one was answering.

They were not the only ones worried. Velasco had three other children. One lives in Albacete and, according to the sisters, even contacted local residents because he could not get through to his father.

"He didn't come here, but he was keeping an eye on things," the sisters said. Around two years ago, he reported his concerns to the Guardia Civil, who visited the house.

Another son lives in Peru, and another daughter lives in Cantabria, though "she isn't well either", according to Sonia and Ángeles.

The sisters have known the woman under investigation since childhood. "We used to walk to school together," they said.

They had noticed a distinct change in her over time. "They used to be a normal couple."

The woman had worked as a nanny, chatted with neighbours, and always said hello. Lately, however, the couple avoided that part of the municipality altogether, taking alternative routes instead.

"They're not dangerous. Nobody's afraid of them," Sonia and Ángeles added.

Police arrested Velasco's daughter and son-in-law on Friday, but the court subsequently released them on bail.

Since then, they have carried on with their routine. "I've seen them doing their shopping at Mercadona as if nothing has happened," said another neighbour, who asked to remain anonymous.

According to the court, the couple "have mental health issues, and there is no risk of them absconding". On Monday, the pair voluntarily attended the courts in Torrelavega.

The investigation will now determine how long the man had been dead and the exact circumstances surrounding his death, though initial enquiries have ruled out foul play.

Sonia and Ángeles are still struggling to process what occurred just a few metres from their doorstep. They had asked questions so many times and suspected something was wrong, but never imagined this.

"You see things like this on the telly and think: how can this happen?" Sonia said, looking towards the house. "And look, it has - right here."

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