THE lead suspect in the brutal murder of a young Spanish university student in Mexico has reportedly confessed to the killing, in a case that sent shockwaves across Spain.
Francisco Javier N, known as El Trompas (‘The Snout’), was arrested in the state of Morelos late on Thursday over the murder of Claudia Tacoronte, a 21-year-old Granada University student who was found stabbed to death barely a month into her exchange programme.
The suspect, who has previous convictions for burglary, was found following a major operation by local and regional security forces around 100km south of Mexico City in Cuaulta – the same city where Claudia was attacked on Saturday night.
According to local reports, he had shaved his head to alter his appearance and was found drunk, before telling officers: “I messed up, what can I do, this is what I deserve.”
READ MORE: Horror in Mexico after Granada university exchange student is stabbed to death
“This morning I was once again in contact with the Mexican foreign minister Roberto Veslaco, who informed me that the alleged murderer of our compatriot Claudia Tacoronte has now been arrested and is reported to have confessed to the crime,” said Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares on Friday.
He expressed his thanks to Mexican authorities for ‘the speed with which the investigations are proceeding, that those ultimately responsible will be held to account and those involved in this incident will face justice’, adding that the Spanish Embassy remains ‘fully at the family’s disposal’.
Claudia, originally from the Canary Islands, was in her fourth year of an early years education degree at the University of Granada and had won a mobility place at the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos (UAEM), arriving for the semester in mid-August.
She was living in the regional capital of Cuernavaca and travelled to Cuaulta on the day of the attack to attend a medical plants fair at the Casa de la Cultura.
Shortly before 9pm, she had stepped outside briefly to have a cigarette and speak on the phone when the suspect, who had entered the unguarded building, approached and stabbed her.
Her phone was stolen and she died shortly afterwards.
El Trompas was identified as the main suspect after CCTV footage from nearby showed him sporting a white T-shirt, light-coloured bermuda shorts and a black backpack, matching what witnesses said the perpetrator was wearing.
He was also linked to several robberies at locations around Cuautla, including one incident recorded on the same day Claudia was fatally attacked.
The Prosecutor’s Office is requesting a prison term of 70 years for the murder.
Gender violence is a serious issue in Mexico, which recorded 721 femicides last year – a figure campaigners warn represents only a quarter of the true total.
Three other female students at UAEM have been murdered this year.
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