Pikka in english trial#

Pikka in english trial#

Police witnesses during the trial said that Muñoz broke down in tears while under interrogation.

After his arrest in September 2015, the prosecution was facilitated by Muñoz’s immediate confession of the crime. The media coverage of McCain’s offer led the Spanish police to launch a massive search operation that led to Muñoz’s arrest within days. A photo of Denise Pikka Thiem while on the Camino de Santiago pilgrim trail. Two other women who also walked the pilgrimage trail had previously reported being assaulted along the same stretch of road by a man matching Muñoz’s description. Her body was located in September 2015, after the search was renewed following public revelations that US Senator John McCain had offered Spain help from the FBI to solve the case – an offer Spain ultimately refused. Her hands were later cut off and never been found. Other women have reported being harassed in the same area.Īn autopsy report found that Pikka Thiem was beaten with a stick, then finished off with a knife wound to her throat. He is believed to have placed this phony marker himself to lure pilgrims. The 41-year-old victim is believed to have taken a detour and became lost on her way back to the main road because she followed a yellow arrow – used to indicate the official route – that took her down another path leading to Muñoz’s home. Prosecutors say Thiem was murdered the same day she went missing while walking alone along a stretch in León between Astorga and El Ganso. The prosecutor has called for 25 years in prison, while the private prosecution wants 27