Woman found dead in Spain assaulted by ‘bladed weapon’
A Singaporean man has been arrested in Spain after the body of missing 39-year-old Singaporean woman Audrey Fang Dirou was found with stab wounds, the Spanish authorities said.
The head of the media office of the Civil guard in Murcia told The Straits Times that the woman showed signs of assault by a “bladed weapon”. She was reportedly stabbed more than 30 times, according to several Spanish media outlets.
Her body was found on April 10 at a lorry park in Abanilla, a municipality in the Murcia region, around 150km away – or about two hours’ drive – from her hotel in Xabia where she was said to be last seen alive, according to Olive Press.
it was discovered by a man who was on his way to have breakfast at a restaurant located along a highway, but it could not be identified at the time.
Abanilla is in the south-east of
Spain and about four hours’ drive from the capital Madrid.
The suspect was detained on April 16 by the Civil guard in Alicante province, and they later transferred him to their colleagues in Murcia.
Spanish media reported that he was staying at a hotel in Alicante, where he was arrested. The Civil guard is one of the two national police forces in Spain.
on April 17, it was revealed that the unidentified body found on April 10 was Fang’s.
Fang travelled alone to Xabia and had been uncontactable since April 10. She left Singapore on April 4 and was due to return on April 12. Her family lodged a report on April 11 with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
A family friend, Lee Si Hui, 30, confirmed that Fang’s body had been found when contacted by The Straits Times on April 18. She said the family could not share much information as they are assisting with police investigations and do not want to hinder
evidence collection, she added.
Lee had travelled to Spain with Fang’s brother and cousin to trace her whereabouts. She said Fang was last seen on the hotel’s CCTV on April 9 at 8.45pm Spanish time.
Fang’s brother, who was at Changi Airport to pick up his sister, found out that Fang did not board her return flight on April 12 and made a police report on the same day. When contacted by The Straits Times, the police confirmed a report had been lodged.
The family found out that Fang had left her hotel room on April 9 and did not return. Her belongings were still in the room.
Fang had told her family that she might be meeting a friend in Spain, but they did not know the person’s identity.
Fang, who was single, lived with her father and younger brother. The architect was due to start a new job in May after a trip to Japan with her aunt and cousin at the end of April.
This was not the first time Fang travelled overseas alone.