The disappearance of Marta del Castillo on January 24, 2009 shocked Spanish society, which began searching for her with her parents. The young woman, 17 years old, had met with some friends, among whom was her ex-boyfriend, Miguel Carcaño. It was a Friday afternoon and she never returned to her house.
Three weeks later, the 19-year-old young man was arrested, who ended up confessing to the crime and was later sentenced to 21 years in prison. He explained that they argued and that he fatally struck her. But not only that. Over the years he has given up to nine different versions of the events, involving third parties and even pointing out other authors of the murder. Of all of them, only one, El Cuco, fifteen years old, was prosecuted and sentenced for concealment to two years and eleven months of confinement.
But what Carcaño never told is where he hid Marta’s body. And recovering the remains of her daughter has become the main workhorse of her parents, Antonio del Castillo and Eva Casanueva.
They have searched for her in different places, from the Guadalquivir River to landfills, without finding a single trace of the young Sevillian. But the family does not give up. And although the Seville Court decided to archive the search for Marta in November 2022, a few weeks ago it was possible to clone Carcaño’s mobile phone card to be able to locate her movements. Up to six locations have been identified in Seville and the province, although it has not been possible to determine that they correspond to the night of the murder.
But the high-profile case of Marta del Castillo went further, becoming one of the triggers that led to an important legislative change: permanent, reviewable prison, approved in 2015.
Now, his murder, today, with current legislation, would be considered a sexist murder. Which didn’t happen.
