Couple facing 58 years for assault and murder

A COUPLE is facing 58 years in prison for the assault, robbery and murder of men they lured with false adverts on social network Badoo.

The pair, named as Hedangeline Candy Arrieta and Mohammed Achraf, are believed to have robbed and assaulted at least three men, and murdered one of them in Pedrola, Zaragoza, in July 2019.

On this first occasion, the defendant, using the name ‘Daniela Mendoza’, contacted a man through the Badoo social network and arranged to meet him in Gallur, Zaragoza, on July 26, 2019. He travelled there by car, and she led him to a secluded house, where he was assaulted by two men, who immobilized him, beat him and gave him electric shocks to obtain the PIN for his bank cards and steal his watch, mobile phone, wallet and car.

They also tried to put the victim in the boot of his own vehicle but were unsuccessful and eventually put him in the car and abandoned it in a secluded place.

The other man charged with this crime is Jose Antonio Melendez, who is facing 16 years as an accomplice.

The second assault took place on September 4. The woman contacted a man through Badoo and he travelled by train to Luceni (Zaragoza), where she took him to a secluded place and he was hit on the head with a wrench.

At first he managed to flee but Arriera and Achraf stopped him, threatened him with a gun, tied him up and covered his mouth to insert him into the boot of a car and take him to what the victim later described as an industrial warehouse. They threatened him to obtain the PIN numbers to his cards and even demanded the telephone numbers of relatives from whom they requested a ransom in exchange for his release. They gave up when they discovered his family didn’t have any money. After suffering multiple contusions, he was abandoned and managed to get help, although the accused stole his suitcase, €650 in cash, a watch, a mobile phone, prescription glasses and personal documents. They attempted to withdraw cash from his bank account, but they failed because he had no money.

The third and last attack took place after the defendant contacted another man, on September 6, from Getxo (Vizcaya). He travelled to Luceni driving his own car where the defendants took him to an industrial warehouse, beat and immobilized him in an attempt to steal his personal belongings and the vehicle.

They decided to kill him, hitting him with all sorts of blows with blunt objects so he was unable to defend himself.

Later they buried the body, which was found on September 27 in Pedrola, about 20 days after his death. The autopsy determined that he was “savagely attacked” and buried alive “in a more than probable state of agony.”

Achraf was wearing a tracking device by court order which placed him at the locations and on the dates on which the crimes had taken place. Some of the stolen objects and weapons used in the attacks were found at the home of the defendants.

They were arrested by Guardia Civil after the third victim’s remains were found.

In addition to the 58 years in prison for the assault and murder of the men, the prosecution is asking for compensation of €4,700 for the first victim, €17,000 for the second and €120,000 for the two children of the murdered man.

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