A SWISS man accused of murdering his partner has been arrested in a remote part of Catalunya following a joint investigation with police in his native Switzerland.
The Guardia Civil detained the 50-year-old suspect on April 28 in the municipality of Riba-roja d’Ebre.
Authorities launched the operation after they discovered his girlfriend’s remains buried in the garden of their home in Switzerland.
Swiss authorities began an investigation earlier this year when the victim’s family reported her disappearance.
Police discovered the woman had never left Switzerland despite claims she had travelled abroad.
The suspect fled to Spain after the alleged killing and hid in an isolated property deep in the mountains of Tarragona.
Spanish officers from the Guardia Civil unit in Tarragona joined the case through international cooperation channels.
Investigators eventually traced the suspect to a remote finca in Riba-roja d’Ebre, surrounded by surveillance cameras.
The Falset Court and the Tarragona International Cooperation Prosecutor’s Office approved raids at properties in Spain and Switzerland.
Officers arrested the suspect during the raid in Tarragona.
He allegedly told investigators where he buried the woman’s body.
Swiss forensic teams later confirmed that the remains discovered at the property belonged to the missing woman.
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Swiss forensic specialists are still trying to determine exactly how the woman died.
Investigators believe the suspect killed the woman near the couple’s home in Switzerland, although they still have not confirmed when it happened.
Spain’s Civil Guard worked alongside the Thurgau Cantonal Police in Switzerland, while Eurojust and judicial authorities in both countries coordinated the operation.
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