A MOROCCAN man, 53, has been arrested for beating a friend to death with a garden hoe at his Pilar de la Horadada home.
He then dumped the body of the male victim, 31, and also Moroccan, in a small tunnel next to the exit of the AP-7.
The assailant tried to make it appear like an accidental death and phoned the Guardia Civil to report his gruesome find.
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The call was made at around 9pm on April 23, with the Guardia and Pilar Policia Local identifying the body at the scene.
An autopsy revealed that the victim suffered a violent death and had been hit several times with an object between April 19 and 20.
A murder probe was then launched by the Guardia Civil’s Homicide Unit based in Alicante.
Inquiries pointed to the man who made the initial report with his home located just 300 metres from where the body was dumped.
The Guardia paid him a visit and discovered that he was planning to flee on his bicycle with a bag containing a passport and other personal items.
Officers searched the outside area and found a wooden hoe- oner a metre long- in some undergrowth.
Blood was discovered on the implement along with a knife inside the property.
The discoveries prompted the suspect to confess to the killing.
He said that the man showed showed up at his house with the intention of staying to live there for a while, but he refused due to the poor state of their relationship.
An argument ensued where he alleged that the victim threatened him with a knife, and he responded by bludgeoning to death with the hoe.
The assailant appeared before an Orihuela which remanded him into custody.
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