MADRID: The Spanish authorities are currently probing the circumstances surrounding the murder of three elderly siblings, Amelia (67), Ángeles (74), and José Gutiérrez Ayuso (77), with a connection to an online romance scam.
A 42-year-old man of Pakistani origin, identified as Dilawar Hussain F.C., voluntarily surrendered to the civil guard, admitting to the killings. The victims, residing in Morata de Tajuña, a town southeast of Madrid, were discovered with their bodies partially burned.
The civil guard revealed that the crime’s motive appears to be a debt owed by the siblings to the suspect, linked to their involvement in an online scam. Friends and neighbors disclosed that Ángeles and Amelia had engaged in online relationships for several years, sending up to €400,000 (£340,000) to an individual named “Edward,” purportedly a US military man, and his friend, with communication primarily through Facebook.
José Gutiérrez Ayuso, who had a mental disability, was not part of the monetary transactions. The online relationships had strained the siblings’ finances, leading them to seek financial assistance from locals, informal lenders, and even the mayor and priest of Morata de Tajuña.
Dilawar Hussain had lived with the siblings as a lodger for several months and claimed they owed him a significant sum from a high-interest loan. Hussain had previously attacked Amelia twice, once with a hammer in February 2023, resulting in medical attention. Despite a two-year jail sentence and a restraining order, he was released after seven months in September.
Concerns were raised when neighbors reported not seeing or hearing from the siblings for several weeks. Enrique Velilla, a local friend, revealed that the sisters’ financial strain led them to sell a property in Madrid and prompted their bank to caution them about a potential scam due to their repeated requests for money.
“We told them that it was all a lie, that it was a scam,” he said. “But they didn’t want to hear the word ‘scam’.”
He added: “Ángeles was a teacher and Amelia had an education. They weren’t stupid. They were ordinary people who fell in love.”
