Málaga’s ‘Dexter’ murderer caught: Plastic-lined rooms and body parts in bags

The room was wrapped in plastic, the car was covered with three protective layers and the victim’s remains were divided between bags. Yet the carefully planned attempt to erase every trace reportedly came undone when council workers discovered a human skull.

Council workers stumbled upon the first clue: a human skull 

Municipal workers were clearing an overgrown plot in Pinos de Alhaurín, on the outskirts of Alhaurín de la Torre, when they made the disturbing discovery last year in June 2025. Inside a damaged plastic bag, hidden in a utility access chamber, was the human skull. A fracture suggested the person had suffered a violent death, but there was nothing to identify the victim and searches of the surrounding land uncovered no other remains. An initial examination reportedly suggested the skull might have belonged to a woman, temporarily sending the investigation in the wrong direction.

The breakthrough arrived in early 2026. Complex genetic testing identified the remains as those of Francisco José Agüera, a 59-year-old resident of Coín who had disappeared during Spain’s strict coronavirus lockdown. Agüera was last seen on April 28, 2020. More than five years after his family appealed for information, investigators finally had evidence that his disappearance involved a suspected murder.

DNA led police to someone Agüera knew

Guardia Civil homicide specialists began reconstructing Agüera’s final movements, examining his communications, documents and personal relationships. The investigation, known as Operation Capibara, included searches using drones, ground-penetrating radar and dogs trained to locate human remains. Despite the scale of the operation, the missing parts of Agüera’s body initially remained undiscovered.

Attention eventually turned to a 65-year-old man who knew him. He was arrested on July 28 and, according to the Guardia Civil, confessed to killing and dismembering Agüera before scattering his remains around several locations. He then accompanied officers to places where he said he had left different body parts. When he later appeared before a judge, however, he decided not to testify. A Málaga court remanded him in custody without bail while he remains formally under investigation for suspected homicide.

The room it happened in was reportedly transformed into a scene from ‘Dexter’

Investigators believe the suspect copied methods seen in Dexter, the television series about a serial killer who covers rooms in plastic to prevent blood and other forensic evidence from being left behind. According to details obtained by El País, much of the suspect’s home was lined with plastic before Agüera’s body was dismembered over several days. The remains were allegedly divided between several bags, each body part wrapped separately, while the gloves used to handle it were reportedly placed inside the same bags to avoid leaving evidence elsewhere.

The plastic wrapping did not stop at the house though. The inside of the suspect’s car was allegedly covered with three protective layers before the bags were transported to different points around Pinos de Alhaurín. A forensic team searched the vehicle for three days but reportedly found no blood, hair or other biological trace.

During an earlier conversation with officers, the man is also said to have referred to watching CSI and other police television programmes while insisting they would never be able to prove anything against him.

The suspect claims the death was accidental

The suspect reportedly told investigators that Agüera died during a confrontation after being accused of stealing. He said that he lost consciousness during the struggle, fell on top of Agüera and accidentally suffocated him.

Investigators, however, do not accept that explanation. The precise circumstances of Agüera’s death have not yet been established publicly, and forensic specialists are now examining the recovered remains for evidence of how he died. Information supplied by the suspect led officers to several new locations, including a small cave that reportedly took five hours to find. A torso has also been recovered and was awaiting genetic comparison with Agüera’s DNA.

Some of the remains could now lie beneath buildings

The six years that have passed between Agüera’s disappearance and the suspect’s arrest have made the search far more complicated. Some of the locations identified during the investigation have changed substantially since 2020. Buildings have reportedly been constructed over areas where body parts could have been left, potentially leaving some remains permanently inaccessible.

Officers must now locate any remaining body parts, establish whether those already recovered belong to Agüera, determine how he died and test the suspect’s account against the physical evidence. The investigation remains open, but the chance discovery made by a group of council workers ultimately broke open Málaga’s disturbing ‘Dexter’ case and led police to their suspect.