Spanish park keeper and CSI addict helps solve murder

A SEVILLIAN park keeper used her deductive skills gleaned from television detective shows to help police solve a murder they originally overlooked. 

Police had treated the death of a 31-year-old woman found in Seville’s Maria Luisa park as a suicide, and neglected to carry out a full crime scene investigation. 

Luckily there’s a popular American television show by that very name and Carmen Moreno, who has been keeping the park clean for 28 years, is an avid fan who has evidently picked up some tips. 

“Behind the bench where she was found there was a pile of bloody tissues and panty liners,” she said. “Normally I carry gloves but I didn’t have any with me. As I’m a big fan of CSI I used a bag to pick them up so as not to contaminate them and I put them in another, small white bag which I tied with a knot.

“I then put this in a larger bag. It surprised me that the police hadn’t picked them up as there were also bloodstains on the bench.”

Police investigating her discovery were able to surmise that the victim had not died of a tranquiliser overdose, but had actually been raped and died a violent death. 

They were then able to match DNA found by the eagle-eyed Moreno with that of a 46-year-old man with a history of violence and successfully prosecute him.