The main suspect is named in reports as Santiago del Valle, who was a neighbour of the Cortés family until recently

Mari Luz´s father, Juan José Cortés, gave a press conference on Wednesday thanking officers for their work in the investigation into his daughter’s death, and commented that he would not wish the pain he suffered in the 54 days she was missing on anyone else, not even on ‘my daughter’s murderer.’
arrests took place in Pajaroncillo, Cuenca, where del Valle and his wife recently moved to avoid reprisals, according to reports. Del Valle has a previous criminal record for sexually abusing one of his daughters, EFE says, and was suspected by Mari Luz’s family from the very first moment. He was in fact arrested in Granada in the early stages of the investigation but released for lack of evidence.


The Civil Guard now have four suspects for the death of Mari Luz Cortés, the five year old from Huelva who disappeared from her home in the El Torrejón district of the city on 13th January on a short trip to the local sweets kiosk, and was found dead 54 days later. The main suspect is named in reports as Santiago del Valle, who was a neighbour of the Cortés family until recently, and lived on the route she would have taken to the kiosk. He was arrested along with his wife on Tuesday. It’s understood the wife has now been released with charges, and she and del Valle’s brother and sister are said to be charged with covering up the crime.He is reported to have confessed to police to his involvement in the child’s disappearance, and said she fell and died accidentally when she was with him ‘at her own choice.’ El Mundo gives a few more details on his confession, that he claims she died when she hit her head after falling down the stairs at the entrance to his block, and that he panicked and hid her in a shopping trolley. He is also said to have admitted that he covered her mouth at one stage.His arrest is said to have come thanks to evidence from the autopsy results on Mari Luz’s body, after she was found floating in the Ría de Huelva on 7th March. There has been no confirmation of what that evidence is, but EFE said the results showed there were no signs of sexual assault, and that asphyxia was the cause of death. She had suffered a broken rib, which could have been the result of a struggle or an attempt to keep her quiet.The suspects are expected to appear before the investigating judge in Huelva on Thursday.

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