Spanish police rebuild victim’s face to crack murder case

SPANISH detectives solved a cold case murder involving a decomposed body found at the bottom of a well by hiring a forensic scientist and an artist to reconstruct the victim’s face.

It is being hailed as the first time that facial reconstruction has been used to solve a criminal investigation in Europe.

Three men have been accused of kidnapping and murdering a Portuguese man near the city of Vigo in north-western Spain, despite the fact that the victim’s body was impossible to identify when it was found in February 2021.

Investigators concluded that the dead man had received a fatal blow to the head, but the lack of flesh and absence of any personal effects in the well meant his identity was a mystery.

With the investigation at a dead end, a year ago the Guardia Civil turned to Fernando Serrulla, a forensic scientist.

With the help of artist Alba Sanín, Dr Serrulla produced six versions of the dead man’s face. Within weeks a woman from Portugal came forward to say she recognised her brother, whom she had not seen for more than three years.

DNA testing confirmed the woman’s story and the dead man was identified as Carlos Alberto Videira do Orfao, from Portugal, who had been living in Spain for 20 years and running a used-car business in Vigo.

Carlos Alberto Videira do Orfao, who was murdered and dumped in a well in Spain, was identified by facial reconstruction