2 May, 2023 @ 16:28
3 mins read

EXCLUSIVE: DNA results may prove skeletal remains in suitcase could belong to missing expat Agnese Klavina, who was kidnapped by Brits a decade ago

Agneses
TRAGIC: Agnese Klavina vanished from the Costa del Sol more than four years ago

By Walter Finch and Alberto Legarraja

THE discovery on a steep area of scrubland and cork oaks near one of the Costa del Sol’s most prestigious golf courses was disturbing in the extreme.

On the borders of La Quinta golf and Los Halcones urbanisations, in Benahavis, the local gardener, Bartolo Gallego, initially thought it was a toy ball.

But when he looked closer, he realised it was a skull, that of a woman, with a number of teeth still intact.

“It was a real shock and I soon discovered two or three more bones, plus a bag of clothes and a big suitcase nearby,” he told local TV station Area.

Having taken photos he sent them to the boss, who immediately called in the police, which were soon on the scene.

All the remains were taken to the garage of the home, where they were loaded up for analysis, with the official DNA results expected back this week.

Agnese Klavina Skull
This skull was found by a gardener in an urbanisation in Benahavis last week, along with other bones, and now police believe it might belong to missing Latvian expat Agnese Klavina. © Bartolo Gallego

According to the gardener, who had been heading to his vegetable garden, forensic experts put the remains as those of a woman between 25 and 35 years old, who had died around 10 to 15 years ago.

What Gallego didn’t realise was that he might have stumbled across the body of decade-long missing Latvian expat, Agnese Klavina.

The 30-year-old had vanished after being abducted from the disco Aqwa Mist in Marbella in 2014 and never been seen again.

However, as the Olive Press revealed at the time, she had been forced into a car by British pals, Westley Capper and Craig Porter, who had driven her up the hill to Benahavis.

We acquired photos of the pair posing in the nightclub, while later, chilling CCTV caught the exact moment Agnese was ‘forced’ into their Mercedes outside the disco at 5am.

Capper, a well-known local gangster, owned up to four multi-million euro villas in the area, at least two for sale.

Agneses
Agnese Klavina was described as ‘lovely and bubbly’ by those who knew her
Agnese Klavina e
Friends and family of Agnese flew in to Marbella to undertake a search for the missing girl

One, had a walk-in fridge/freezer, which he told potential buyers was ‘where we keep the bodies’.

However, when he was finally charged over her abduction he insisted she had asked to get out of the car on the ‘Ronda road’ in Benahavis and he had not seen her again.

He refused to confirm what had been in a heavy suitcase carried onto a yacht in Duquesa Port the following day.

Capper, who died of Covid in 2021, and Porter had claimed that they were driving Agnese to another party but she changed her mind and asked them to drop her off near her house.

Porter told the court he fell asleep in the back of the Mercedes before Agnese got out.

Since a body was never found, the pair were ultimately convicted in 2019 of the lesser crime of ‘coercion’ after a judge ruled that they had not unlawfully detained her.

Capper had been facing up to 16 years behind bars as CCTV showed him ushering Agnese into the car.

Danni Capper tweet e
Capper, left, and Porter, right in a photograph taken in Aqwa Mist on the night of Agnese’s disappearance. Photo: © the Olive Press

Porter, who was seen holding the door open, was also cleared of illegal detention.

Instead, Capper was sentenced to two years in prison and Porter got six months.

The verdict caused anguish for the friends and family of Agnese, who felt that the accused had gotten away with her murder.

“All lines of investigation are open and it is a possibility that the bones found belong to her,” a high-ranking Guardia Civil told the Olive Press yesterday.

“But it is not possible to identify who the victim is until we have the results from the DNA test,” He added: “I can only confirm that the suitcase with the bones was found at the Urbanizacion Halcones in Benahavis.” 

The DNA of the ‘lovely, bubbly’ waitress is among a database of dozens of missing women around Spain and it is hoped there will be a match.

JUDGEMENT DAY: Westley Capper arriving at Malaga court for the verdict in Agnese’s disappearance in 2019 © the Olive Press

It is believed that the body had initially been cut up and buried in a red suitcase, but animals, probably wild boar, somehow pulled it out and strewed it around the garden.

Capper and Porter went on to have numerous run-ins with the law in Spain over the following years. 

In 2016, Capper dodged jail again after admitting to being behind the wheel in the hit-and-run death of mother-of-three Fatima Dorado.

Unrepentant Liverpool-native Porter was in the car with Capper – but he also avoided going down.

A judge gave them both a suspended sentence in 2020 over the death. 

Capper allegedly paid compensation to Dorado’s family before his sentencing – a deal dubbed ‘blood money’.

READ MORE:

Walter Finch

Walter Finch, who comes from a background in video and photography, is keen on reporting on and investigating organised crime, corruption and abuse of power. He is fascinated by the nexus between politics, business and law-breaking, as well as other wider trends that affect society.
Born in London but having lived in six countries, he is well-travelled and worldly. He studied Philosophy at the University of Birmingham and earned his diploma in journalism from London's renowned News Associates during the Covid era.
He got his first break in the business working on the Foreign News desk of the Daily Mail's online arm, where he also helped out on the video desk.
He then decided to escape the confines of London and returned to Spain in 2022, having previously lived in Barcelona for many years.
He took up up a reporter role with the Olive Press Newspaper and today he is based in La Linea de la Concepcion at the heart of a global chokepoint and crucial maritime hub, where he edits the Olive Press Gibraltar edition.
He is also the deputy news editor across all editions of the newspaper.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Madrid's Dos de Mayo celebrations
Previous Story

No entry: Government minister stopped from attending parade at Madrid’s regional celebrations

Road hauliers desperate for 2,000 extra drivers in Spain's Costa Blanca and Valencia areas
Next Story

Road hauliers desperate for 2,000 extra lorry drivers in Spain’s Costa Blanca and Valencia areas

Latest from Crime & Law

Go toTop

More From The Olive Press