GUILTY Spain - Denise Thiem, 40, U.S. traveler, Astorga, 4 April 2015

[ZaZara]

CAMINO DE SANTIAGO: DNA CONFIRMS BODY BELONGS TO DENISE THIEM

AZCentral - with video
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news.../?hootPostID=07e752016366c3cf9ebf02dbd11741d0


Each year, tens of thousands of people walk various routes to reach Santiago de Compostela, a historic cathedral in the country's northwest corner, which is believed to house the remains of the apostle St. James. Some go for a religious pilgrimage. Others go for a physical challenge or a vacation.

The Camino is often portrayed as an idyllic journey, where one can engage in solitary reflection as well as an unusual camaraderie among strangers along the route. The hike was made more popular after release of "The Way," a 2010 film starring Martin Sheen that follows his character's soul-searching walk to Santiago after the death of his son.

However, after Thiem's disappearance, reports of other travelers being harassed on the Camino began to surface on message boards. Several outlets, including the Spanish national newspaper El Pais, have reported that the arrested man had a history of harassing and attacking pilgrims along that stretch of the Camino de Santiago.

"Her family and her friends, even the pilgrims who did the hike with her, have all said, would've should've could've," Peterson said. She referred in part to a letter from the last hiker known to have seen Thiem alive, who expressed regrets that he did not continue to walk with Thiem after Astorga, just before she disappeared.

"It breaks my heart knowing that there's other folks...(who) feel the same way," Peterson said. "We wish we could have done something different in hindsight. But no one ever expects this to happen."

Spanish officials have continued to maintain the Camino de Santiago, a major tourism draw, is safe. Peterson said she hopes Thiem's death is not in vain and that there is more attention paid to hikers' safety.

"I knew Denise and I knew she was a smart person," Peterson said. "I hope that the folks that help support the Camino take a little bit more responsibility and accountability of the safety of the pilgrims."


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

INVESTIGATING A PILGRIMAGE AND THE LAND OF THE MARAGATOS

El Pais
http://politica.elpais.com/politica.../1443198986_693293.html?id_externo_rsoc=TW_CM


On April 20, Cedric Pikka Thiem landed at Barajas Airport from Phoenix (Arizona) and went straight to the police station at the airport to file a report. His sister, Denise Pikka Thiem, 41, had not made contact for two weeks. The last thing he knew was that she was in Astorga (León), covering one of the final stages of the Camino de Santiago before returning home after three months of traveling around the world. That report was the beginning of a long and thorough investigation that lasted for five months. It was resolved last September 11 when police found her body after arresting the alleged perpetrator of her death, Miguel Angel Muñoz Blas, a 39 year-old resident of a maragata village.

Solving the case, despite being successful in terms of law enforcement, has not happened without creating a lot of noise. About if it took too long. About if they rejected the assistance FBI offered to the Spanish Government in letter from Sen. John McCain. About if the main suspect escaped. About if the police deployment was over the top. About that they have published contradictory or incorrect information ...
The truth is that this report continued its way and arrived at the police station in Astorga. Quickly, the media echoed the disappearance of an American woman of Chinese origin. And the police released her photograph across the country.

The truth is also that apart from the first unsuccessful search parties carried out by the local agents, the Guardia Civil and also locals, the Specialist and Violent Crime Unit (UDEV) of the Commissioner General of the Judicial Police began to operate in unison. "Things were looking bad," say sources from the investigation.

From the beginning they worked with three scenarios: "That she has gone voluntarily, that she has had an accident, that it is a case of enforced disappearance." The second option was virtually discarded, given the characteristics of the stretch of about 14 kilometers from Astorga and El Ganso, the last place where she was seen on April 5 and the place where she was headed, respectively. "It's an easy area to walk without sections of particular difficulty," the investigators explain. The first option, however, remained open almost to the end. "If anyone wants to get out of the way, the last ones to know are their friends and family," the investigators say. The third option, the most terrible, always came up as the most likely. But who and why could have made her disappear?

Therefore, a tough task began for investigators. More than 200 people of 20 different nationalities were interviewed. "We had to know exactly what her last steps were and who had been near to her," they explain. They collected all the listings of albergues where she had passed. They crossed matches in the preliminary stations of the Camino of Santiago. They found that she had ceased to be active in social networks and that her mobile was inactive. They maintained communications via videoconference with some of her companions and family. Regular contacts were established with the liason officer of the FBI - long before any American offer- about information on her activities in the United States and for obtaining DNA from the parents. They searched for all "persons in the area with criminal records. Ex-convicts. Convicts on leave. Reportings of violations. Strange or suspicious personalities of the area, peculiar persons ..." The result was an extensive list of characters. Among was Miguel Ángel Muñoz Blas, who was questioned.

By the end of July, the Minister of Interior Jorge Fernandez Diaz, traveled to León. His visit and his statements gave priority to the case, a case that at that time was wel on track. And surveillances were conducted around the house of the main suspect. Blas Muñoz is "a strange man who lives alone in a prefab wooden house almost without light, notorious for stealing in the village, had a history, leaving little, no TV or computer, only a radio, a sinister type," the investigators profile. Monitoring him had a handicap. "It's the only house in that area, any unusual movement was visible both for us and for him," they comment. And a huge risk, "Without the body of the victim we could achieve little."

In the meantime, the police detected an odd transaction in a branch of a bank in Astorga, a man had changed $ 1,200 to euros. This was Miguel Angel Muñoz Blas, but ... "And what if he says that he has found them in a backpack? We need stronger evidence if we wanted to solve the case," the investigators say. They were already working against a time limit. "The operation could not happen in September because the weather itself would turn against us," they argue.

Muñoz movements were followed with all due caution, because in such a small village - the house was near the hamlet of Castrillo de los Polvazares - it became immediately evident when those from Madrid had returned. "His comfort zone was analyzed, the places he visited, including the squatter houses in Madrid and Gijon, and from the beginning we thought that, if he were the perpetrator of a crime, he would have hidden the body in a terrain he knew best. But who assured us that he did not hold her locked up in a hiding place? What if we would arrest him and he would not cooperate? The important thing was to find the girl, dead or alive," the investigators recall their doubts. They were determined to solve the case in one strike. While the media pressure grew, those hundred hectares, including his property, were mapped with grids and they prepared themselves to sweep them with one premise: "That we would not take one step forward without having clear that we had made all possible checks."

Blas Muñoz, probably aware that he was being watched, became concerned and decided to move the body to another spot. "He must have done that at night, at dawn, nervous about the upheaval in the media that caused the letter from the US Senator". No one saw him. In the same manner, he fled to Asturias in the second week of September, where he was located by officers on September 11, after a withdrawal at an ATM that betrayed his whereabouts. Several policemen arrested him in a bar in Grandas de Salime.

Hours later, Muñoz led them to where the body of the pilgrim was. To the second spot he had chosen for its burial. Outside of his "comfort zone". He had cut off the hands - which are still sought by the investigators - in an alleged attempt to eliminate evidence. He told the judge that he hit her without wanting to kill her, he buried the body and then, frightened, moved it to another spot.
An entire operation of 300 troops was withdrawn - including a battalion of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), prominent in the area - with corresponding machinery, all mounted "to convey a message of determination to the subject" and prepared for the worst case scenario. "In case the alleged perpetrator of the murder of Denise Pikka Thiem would be uncooperative and we needed to set off in an area with dozens of wells."


BBM


I resent the idea that the National Police were serious about the possibility that Miguel Angel held a living Denise captive and then waited 5 months to liberate her. And no questions asked.

Well done, reporter Patricia Ortega Dolz! You are a beacon of light in a world full of crimen de género ~ gender crime.... NOT

 

[ZaZara]

DENISE THIEM AND THE CAMINO

Correo Gallego.es
http://www.elcorreogallego.es/opini...camino/idEdicion-2015-09-27/idNoticia-954861/

GERARDO FERNÁNDEZ ALBOR:

I have been appealing for ages for more care of the Camino de Santiago, the most important future of Galicia, for which we should demand the necessary financial support from the European Union. The misfortune of the young American woman Denise Thiem shows that we need more care, better signage and protection. Had she not been lost and off the track, something that should not happen on a well marked Camino, she would not have requested assistance from he future murderer.

Police protection on the road, because we will have to investigate who live along the route, what they do, how they live, how they work ... Historically there were always crooks who used the Camino to rob pilgrims. I do not know their status in the area of the crime, but here in Galicia, which should be an example of everything that I ask for. I see, from Biduído, how the pilgrims coming from Portugal or from the South ask for information about the route they need to follow to reach Santiago. We do not worry as we should about the greatest source of wealth that we have in Santiago and Galicia, a wealth that is equally spiritual, social and economic. And never again a [tragedy like the one of] Denise Thiem!


BBM


Gerardo Fernández Albor, born 1917 in Santiago de Compostela, was the first president of the Junta of Galicia (1982-1987) and member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1999.

 

[ZaZara]

WE ALL WERE DENISE

DiariodeLeón
http://www.diariodeleon.es/noticias/opinion/todos-eramos-denise-thiem_1011650.html

Álvaro Miguélez:

On May 4 the Diario de León published my article 'We are all Denise Thiem', full of concern, and at the time full of hope, about the whereabouts of the American pilgrim who disappeared on the Camino de Santiago between Astorga and El Ganso. Four months later we regret that ours worst fears have come true, the ones that nobody wanted. Denise did not arrive in Santiago because a heartless man decided to step in her way with unspeakable and murderous intent.

In Chapter VI of the Codex Calixtinus, written by Pope Calixto in the second half of the twelfth century, a detailed description is given of the trail of the French Camino de Santiago. Already in that era some of the risks on the Camino were mentioned. For example he says that there were two rivers in Navarra, the Salado and Los Arcos, that carried poisoned water and killed the horses. Chapter VII describes how in the vicinity of Port de Cize, toll collectors await the pilgrims and use force to strip them off unjust taxes.

These and other examples that appear in the Codex Calixtinus have nothing to do with the safety around all the Caminos to Santiago today. Safety that is passed on among the pilgrims in such a way that they sometimes take unnecessary risks. Confidence in the Camino is complete. This is the greatest asset that provide all those working on the Camino, with the sole aim to make the pilgrims reach Santiago in the best possible conditions.

But we must not make the mistake that everything is perfect and put our guards down. There is a set of actions and events that interfere with the pilgrims traveling on this Camino that is already known as the Main Street of Europe. Any incident can harm its future. There are still many sections that coincide with roads with heavy traffic. In the same way there are 'smart' people who change or modify signals so that pilgrims make unnecessary detours for the sole purpose of letting ther personal interests benefit. Still lacking are road signs as well as maintenace and cleaning of several stretches. Trees need to be planted and replaced so they can provide shadow.

I can not conclude without paying tribute to those responsible for the albergues, both public and private, who pass information every day to the National Police and Civil Guard about the guests in their establishments. This is heavy and repetitive work, which is very useful so the Security Forces of the State can solve prblems of losses on the Camino, locate those whom their relatives are looking for for various reasons or solve cases like the murder of our Denise.

We all were Denise. Our sincere condolences to her mother, brother and family.

The pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela is safer today under the protection of Denise.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

HUMBERTO FERNÁNDEZ AMIGO FROM VILLAFRANCA DEL BIERZO WILL BE THE PROSECUTOR IN THE CASE OF DENISE THIEM

The alleged murderer of the pilgrim, Miguel Angel Muñoz, remains in the Leonese prison of Mansilla de las Mulas awaiting trial

El Bierzo Digital
http://www.elbierzodigital.com/el-v...era-el-fiscal-del-caso-de-denise-thiem/105310

The villafranquino Humberto Fernández Amigo will be the prosecutor in the case of the pilgrim Denise Thiem. Fernandez Amigo is one of the prosecutors in Leon, the territorial demarcation that corresponds to the case.

Thiem died at the hands of Miguel Angel Munoz while on the Camino de Santiago. Muñoz has confessed his crime but claims that the pilgrim asked help after getting lost on the road and he accompanied her for a while, but she got nervous and verbally assaulted him, causing him to "obfuscate" and hit her with a stick, after which she would have fallen on his head hitting some stones.

Then women allegedly started to convulse, according to the defendant. He claims that he then cut his throat "to stop suffering." Then he cut her hands in an attempt to hinder the identification of the body, which he hid.

Investigators maintain the thesis that the man changed the road signs to confuse the pilgrims, whom he was spying upon with the aim to rob them. The same would have happened in the case of Denise Thiem, but this time the events and the resilience of the victim would have complicated the robbery, which ended with her death. In fact, one of the evidences that led to the arrest of Muñoz was that he was in possession of money -dolares- that he stole from Thiem. He went to exchange that money for euros at a bank.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

"DENISE WILL ALWAYS REMAIN IN THE MEMORY OF THIS COMMISSARIAT"


Astorga Digital
http://www.astorgadigital.com/denis...omisario-de-la-policia-nacional-astorga/69542

The celebration of the Day of The Holy Guardian Angels, patrons of the National Police, was held on Friday at the police station in Astorga. The commissioner of the city, Dionisio Francisco Cabero Juarez, expressed his condolences to the familiy of Denise Pikka Thiem, the pilgrim murdered while on the Camino de Santiago, and said that "this has been a difficult year because this case has overtaken all." The head of the National Police has also wanted to express words of farewell to the pilgrim and said that "Denise always be in the memory of this station."

Also, the commissioner said that "although we knew that the man now detained was the prime suspect, it has not been easy to obtain the necessary evidence to bring him to justice."
"This has been an isolated incident as the Camino de Santiago has always been safe," the Commissioner assured and he added that "we the security forces take care of that."

Finally, Cabreo thanked all members of the force of the National Security, the Guardia Civíl and the local police. He also congratulated the judges of Astorga, the forensic doctor at Anatomy Institute of Ponferrada and all the volunteers who participated in the search for the pilgrim. Rocío of the chocolate store Sonrisas, the branche offices of Caja España and Caja Mar, Las Encinas Association, the Association of Friends of the Camino de Santiago, Astorga Motoclub all worked together with the security forces from the first day that the news of her disappearance was reported.


BBM



Rocío Rabanal from the Chocolateria Sonrisas and Lisardo Díaz, agent of the National Police, plan to create a memorial for Denise:

https://www.facebook.com/In-Memoriam-Denise-Thiem-896133863806167/timeline/

We have created an account to collect funds for the monolith that we plan place at the rest area for pilgrims in Santa Catalina de Somoza, as an eternal tribute to Denise Thiem. At its side we will put a "tree of life" so any pilgrim or person coming there can leave memories, words, his flowers or whatever they feel in remembrance of this peregrina.

 

[Lumberjill]

They just can't stop telling us "as the Camino de Santiago has always been safe".

 

[ZaZara]

They just can't stop telling us "as the Camino de Santiago has always been safe".

........ the Commissioner assured and he added that "we the security forces take care of that."


Hell yeah ....




The picture is a screenshot taken from the video of Telecinco. The lower part of the page is not visible in the video.


Telecinco.es
http://www.telecinco.es/elprogramad...grinas-asaltadas-archivadas_2_2055930067.html

Complaints of two assaulted pilgrims on the Camino were archived
The judge found no grounds to accuse anyone

In October 2014, six months before the disappearance of Denise Thiem, the Judge of Astorga archived two complaints of assault filed by two peregrinas because there were "not ... sufficient grounds to accuse certain individual or individuals as perpetrators, accomplices or accessories, proceeding to grant provisional dismissal and to archive the complaints."


BBM

"Sobreseimiento provisional" implies that the cases may be revived as soon as there is enough evidence to do so, that is when the lack of sufficient grounds to accuse someone disappears.

As a result of the dismissal, no further legal action was taken against Miguel Angel Muñoz Blas.
This is where the gap between the legal world and the real world becomes obvious, with deadly results for Denise Thiem.
The legal point evolves around Miguel Angel being responsible for the robberies with violence.
There was NO DOUBT that the two women who filed the complaint had been attacked in the area.


Yet Miguel Angel returned home. No further mesures were taken. No warnings, no announcements, no improvement of signage - that would take at least another year and five months after the disappearance of Denise.

So much for the security forces taking care of safety. Perhaps they were waiting fore yet another report about robbery with violence from a pegegrina who might identify him.


:banghead:

 

[pappa rob]

They just can't stop telling us "as the Camino de Santiago has always been safe".

Is there anyplace "safe" anymore? I've been around a long time and still haven't found it, when you do let me know where!

 

[ZaZara]

Is there anyplace "safe" anymore? I've been around a long time and still haven't found it, when you do let me know where!

pappa rob, I've been thinking about your question and this neverending 'the camino is safe safe safe' mantra. I haven't found a real answer yet.

One of the many camino websites belongs the (Dutch) Nederlands Genootschap van St Jacob.
They write about Denise:

'On september 11 the body of Denise Thiem was found in Spain. She had been missing for months after leaving Astorga.
On behalf of the board NGSJ we offer our condolences to the family and close friends of Denise Thiem. Her disappearance was of concern to the entire camino community. May she and her family find peace.'

https://www.santiago.nl/nieuws/denise-thiem

There is no mention whatsoever about how she died, nothing at all. No mention that the Police have made an arrest. If I had not known about the case, I might conclude that she got lost and died a natural death.
In an earlier news item on the same website, the alleged kidnap attempt near Santa Catalina de Somoza is referred to as 'misogynistic events'. Even to Dutch standards, this is absurd.


Here is a video from May 15 that is related to the English-speaking camino forum.
[video=youtube;3tlQIqTgdhQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tlQIqTgdhQ[/video]

The title is Warning to Pilgrims, and this is how she goes on:

This is kind of just a bit of a warning just to be aware of what is happening.... this should in no way discourage you from going on the Camino. I never felt even remotely threatened on the Camino, nor did any woman that I met .... these things can happen anywhere in the world.... it can happen at home so I don't want to give the impression that the camino is unsafe...

It takes her 1 minute into the 2.41 minutes to actually mention Denise's disappearance. But don't let that stop you from getting on the Camino.

Camino Logic:

The Camino is safe, no matter what.
If something does happen, this could have happened at home too (and what about living in New York?)
If it could have happened at home or anywhere in the world, this does not affect the Camino safety, even if it did happen on the Camino.
Since the safety on the Camino is not affected by anything that happens on the Camino, no one is obliged to inform, even if specific information about previous attacks on women between Astorga and el Ganso would have saved the life of pilgrim Denise Thiem.

Buen Camino!


:gaah::gaah:

 

[ZaZara]

SAFETY WILL BE INCREASED ON THE CAMINO

ABC.es.Galicia
http://www.abc.es/local-galicia/20151008/abci-interior-camino-santiago-201510081107.html


A written reply from the Government to a question from the PSOE Executive confirms plans to strengthen the security measures along the Camino de Santiago after the incidents that occurred in recent months. The most serious of these incidents was the murder of the American pilgrim Denise Thiem in a section of the Camino as it passes through the province of León. In this case the body was found after the alleged perpetrator was arrested.

As reflected in the document, in the performance of official duties entrusted to the law enforcement bodies, measures have been adopted and promoted in order to put emphasis on the prevention, investigation and prosecution of crimes committed along the different stages. Specifically the presence of personnel and police vehicles has been reinforced. The plan has increased the distance of the stretches of surveillance and the stretches through which patrols pass on the routes belonging to the pilgrimage route.

Moreover, at this time, measures of cooperation have been established with other bodies such as local police and Civil Protection services. Contacts with management of albergues in different districts have been intensified. Communication channels have been established for a sharp attention to possible applications for assistance and for the exchange of information. The security forces need information to be able to to advance other measures for prevention and safety.

On the other hand, the parliamentary response of the Executive explains that the relevant provincial and regional brigades have qualified operating groups and have the necessary experience for carrying out investigations under the coordination and direction of the Central Unit for Specialist and Violent Crime. Similarly, they are working together with police forces of other countries through the usual channels of police cooperation and exchange of international information.

Initiatives from Galicia

Galicia too has responded to the necessity of increasing security measures on the Camino de Santiago, one of the key developments of the route up to the next Jacobean year 2021 according to the Master Plan presented in recent weeks.

The regional government has committed for one of its major tourist resources some 56 million euros with the expectation to receive more than 650 million in return in the next five years. In fact, not only the number of the agents who patrol the trails can improve the safety of the pilgrims, but also improvement of the signage to avoid dangerous detours or points that may entail some risk for pilgrims.

The ultimate goal of this plan is to make the Camino a sustainable destination in the light of the growth forecasts that are being considered given the trend of recent years. To ensure that this objective is carried out, the Plan counts on the cooperation of all authorities involved.


BBM


Great plans!
Now I wonder, what would have been different for the two women who each reported a robbery with violence past Castrillo de los Polvazares in 2014 if these regulations had been effective last year?

 

[ZaZara]

PONFERRADA: MASS FOR THE ETERNAL REPOSE OF THE SOUL OF PILGRIM DENISE PIKKA THIEM


El Bierzo Digital
http://www.elbierzodigital.com/la-b...ia-en-recuerdo-de-a-denise-pikka-thiem/106683

The Basílica de La Encina of Ponferrada celebrates this Saturday a Mass in the memory of the American pilgrim Denise Pikka Thiem, according to a message from the Association of Friends of the Camino de Santiago del Bierzo on Thursday.
Denise Pikka Thiem disappeared on April 5 while doing the Camino de Santiago, she was found dead due to a brutal murder, in mid-September.

The Association of Friends of the Camino de Santiago del Bierzo, the albergues of the parish 'San Nicolás de Flüe' of Ponferrada, 'Domus Dei' of Foncebadón, 'Santiago Apóstol' of El Acebo, the parishes of Ponferrada and the diocesan delegation of the Camino de Santiago, invite you to attend the Mass for the eternal repose of the soul of the pilgrim Denise Pikka Thiem. Mass will begin at 20.30 hrs.

BBM



:candle:

 

[Lumberjill]

Is there anyplace "safe" anymore? I've been around a long time and still haven't found it, when you do let me know where!

pappa rob, I felt 100% safe in Scotland searching for Susan McLean this past summer. If not for the weather, I'd seriously consider moving there.

 

[pappa rob]

pappa rob, I felt 100% safe in Scotland searching for Susan McLean this past summer. If not for the weather, I'd seriously consider moving there.

I used to feel safe in Chicago when I lived there, but was I? Feeling safe and being safe aren't quite the same thing, are they?

 

[ZaZara]

pappa rob, I felt 100% safe in Scotland searching for Susan McLean this past summer. If not for the weather, I'd seriously consider moving there.

I used to feel safe in Chicago when I lived there, but was I? Feeling safe and being safe aren't quite the same thing, are they?

You may have felt safe, Lumberjill, but then the ticks got you, those tiny creeps...
(http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...2015-American-visitor&p=12122321#post12122321) I wish you a speedy recovery!

As for the Camino, many feel safe even when they are not. Either way, they spread the epidemic.

I'm reading a lot of articles with short interviews with pilgrims, mainly women. They may have heard of Denise's case. They are relieved that the murderer has been caught, and all of them felt very safe during the camino anyway. The Camino is returning to normal!

They would have been safer, and Denise would still be alive, if a decent warning system had been in place, even if the man who attacked peregrinas had not been caught. Denise would have decided not to walk alone on that stretch and Giorgio would have insisted that they'd hike together.

Unfortunately, many confuse their own experience with the safety of the system.

You just have to use your intuition..... and similar verbiage. When Denise came to that point, it was already too late. I don't know what this is about intuition, these peregrinas seem to equate it with prevention.


:waitasec:

 

[Lumberjill]

ZaZara,
You have done such an amazing service for Denise's family, but more so for all pilgrims. Now if only they will listen to the warnings you have promoted instead of their "intuition" or "guardian angels". Facts are facts, and the Camino is NOT SAFE! Travel in groups!

 

[Satchie]

Facts are facts, and the Camino is NOT SAFE! Travel in groups!

There have been many airplane crashes, but one still gets on an airplane, because the risk is small and the reward is high. Please allow women to make their own decisions.

 

[ZaZara]

LA PEREGRINA

Francisco Pérez Abellán, investigator and crime reporter

http://www.libertaddigital.com/opinion/francisco-perez-abellan/la-peregrina-76698/



The Camino de Santiago seemed a safe place, but for Denise Pikka Thiem it became a black hole that swallowed her.
In a stretch of fourteen kilometers between Astorga and El Ganso, where according to the association of the Guardia Civíl the dogs of the canine unit of the Guardia Civil cannot enter because it belongs to the responsibility of the National Police, since times before anyone can remember, a prowler was operating. He watched the female pilgrims who were traveling alone and, like in a horror movie, he altered the tracks with false signals to make them end up in a trap where he'd suddenly emerge to take advantage of them.
Has any other female pilgrim been buried in this stretch without anyone knowing about her?
The story smells because of the lack of crime prevention.

I know that from the beginning the investigators did not rule out the possibility of finding more bodies. They even explored the possibility of more women who had disappeared without family or friends who might have missed them, although it is unclear whether these investigations will yield results.

Although much false and contradictory information has been leaked, the alleged perpetrator would have used a modus operandi of selecting foreign women who were traveling alone, with a wealthy and healthy looking appearance. His behavior is reminiscent of other famous marauders.

Denise, forty-one, ventured unaccompanied on the Camino de Santiago, famous throughout the world thanks to films such as The Way. She had seen that movie and it inspired her to undertake the spiritual journey that cost her her life. She disappeared in April and was found dead in September after the Republican senator McCain from Arizona, who participated in the race for the presidency of the United States, wrote to President Rajoy asking him to request the help of the FBI as the investigations into the disappearance of Denise seemed to have reached a dead end.

That was not the case, but the flaws in the investigation are manifold. To the point that, after rejecting the suggestion of McCain, they hastily launched an operation, or if you prefer, an operation appeared out of the blue, with 300 members of the police, the army and the brigade of the subsurface, all ready - as has been published - to inspect more than eighty wells. All of which shows that no one knew where the body of Denise might be, although it was clear that, contrary to what official sources always said, they were looking for her remains. Within hours of all these fireworks and the political operation designed to stir up the noise in the media, police found the suspect number one who had escaped from the preventive monitoring to which he was subjected by going to Asturias. There he was located when he took money with his credit card. The operation of the 300 agents was suspended.

The body was not hidden in any well, but under some branches, and perhaps a dog of the Guardia Civil who was sniffing a track through the area might have found it a long time ago, if the head of the National Police in the district would not have chased them away by claiming his jurisdiction over the territory of Astorga. I am in favor of the National Police and Guardia Civil being two different organizations to the point that one is in charge of cases of corruption or criminal search with help of the other, but the lack of cooperation and understanding between these bodies should never be tolerated.

The alleged perpetrator of the murder on the Camino de Santiago had been noted since the beginning of the disappearance of the pilgrim because he changed over a thousand dollars in a bank. An American woman disappears and a guy who lives a modest life changes a thousand dollars: how clear and obvious do you want it? On top of this the stories of victims pile up, victims who claim to have been assaulted and abused on the Camino and reveal its dangers. It has even been published and it was not denied, that a German woman led police to the place where she was assaulted in the area. Why then it has taken so long to arrest the alleged murderer?

Informally, Police confirmed that they are suffering from the Marta del Castillo syndrome [*] and did not want to act until they found the body. But this also contradicts with the outcome: they were searching for body with grand pomp and ceremony while the suspect had run off.
The amazing thing is the most important question: why are the politicians who run the security forces unable to agree?


BBM


[*] Marta del Castillo (1991 -2009) was murdered in Sevilla. Her body was never found despite many extensive and expensive searches. The convicted murderer has given up to 9 different versions of the crime, with varying locations of the body.

 

[ZaZara]

CHINA AND GERMANY ARE INVESTIGATING OTHER ATTACKS BY THE MURDERER OF AMERICAN PILGRIM DENISE THIEM

Four new witnesses will be questioned in the court of Astorga this morning


DiariodeLeón.es
http://www.diariodeleon.es/noticias...peregrina-americana-denise-thiem_1017599.html


The National Police has sent letters rogatory to Germany and China with the request that the administration of justice in those countries investigates possible attacks on the Camino de Santiago, as it passes through the area where the murder of the pilgrim happened, in order to know if the versions of the tourists who at the time reported having been assaulted allegedly at the hands of the accused for the death of Denise Pikka Thiem, correspond with the data that the investigation has put together.

This is a procedure for judicial assistance between states with the clear aim of obtaining evidence abroad, in which the competent authority of the requested country is asked to carry out investigative measures, mainly of taking evidence, within their jurisdiction

In the case of the crime of the pilgrim, the investigation intends to come to a conclusion if the victims identified the alleged perpetrator and if from the data of his manifestations previous attacked can be inferred or whether, as the defense of the accused claims, these are matters that have nothing to do with him at all.

For the execution of a rogatory, one must take into account three aspects: the establishment of the rule of general application, its possible exception or special form, and the speed with which it must be done.

Moreover, this morning from 10.00 hrs on four people, residents of the area where the incident occurred, shall be heard in the Court of First Instance and Instruction No. 2 of Astorga , to collect data about the personality of the accused of the facts and about possible clashes that happened before the murder.

Miguel Angel Muñoz Blas, the confessed murderer, remains in the provincial prison of Villahierro since his arrest in the Asturian town of Grandas de Salimes. He acknowledged the facts to forensics who examined him


BBM


Locals speaking up... this is a positive development, since the press reported earlier that they were reluctant to say anything about MAMB for fear what he might do once he was freed.

I copypaste from a previous post (10-04-2015, 02:47 PM) of mine:

In October 2014, six months before the disappearance of Denise Thiem, the Judge of Astorga archived two complaints of assault filed by two peregrinas because there were "not ... sufficient grounds to accuse certain individual or individuals as perpetrators, accomplices or accessories, proceeding to grant provisional dismissal and to archive the complaints."


"Sobreseimiento provisional" implies that the cases may be revived as soon as there is enough evidence to do so, that is when the lack of sufficient grounds to accuse someone disappears.

At the time of the two previously known attacks, the cases were filed because there was not enough evidence for the time being to accuse someone. What they are doing juridically now is revoking this Sobreseimiento Provisional. IMHO they will want to use the testimonies as evidence and add the charges to the case, instead of starting separate cases. The lawyer will of course oppose this.

 

[ZaZara]

LA PEREGRINA

Francisco Pérez Abellán, investigator and crime reporter

http://www.libertaddigital.com/opinion/francisco-perez-abellan/la-peregrina-76698/

<snipped>

That was not the case, but the flaws in the investigation are manifold. To the point that, after rejecting the suggestion of McCain, they hastily launched an operation, or if you prefer, an operation appeared out of the blue, with 300 members of the police, the army and the brigade of the subsurface, all ready - as has been published - to inspect more than eighty wells. All of which shows that no one knew where the body of Denise might be, although it was clear that, contrary to what official sources always said, they were looking for her remains. Within hours of all these fireworks and the political operation designed to stir up the noise in the media, police found the suspect number one who had escaped from the preventive monitoring to which he was subjected by going to Asturias. There he was located when he took money with his credit card. The operation of the 300 agents was suspended.

The body was not hidden in any well, but under some branches, and perhaps a dog of the Guardia Civil who was sniffing a track through the area might have found it a long time ago, if the head of the National Police in the district would not have chased them away by claiming his jurisdiction over the territory of Astorga. I am in favor of the National Police and Guardia Civil being two different organizations to the point that one is in charge of cases of corruption or criminal search with help of the other, but the lack of cooperation and understanding between these bodies should never be tolerated.

The alleged perpetrator of the murder on the Camino de Santiago had been noted since the beginning of the disappearance of the pilgrim because he changed over a thousand dollars in a bank. An American woman disappears and a guy who lives a modest life changes a thousand dollars: how clear and obvious do you want it? On top of this the stories of victims pile up, victims who claim to have been assaulted and abused on the Camino and reveal its dangers. It has even been published and it was not denied, that a German woman led police to the place where she was assaulted in the area. Why then it has taken so long to arrest the alleged murderer?

Informally, Police confirmed that they are suffering from the Marta del Castillo syndrome [*] and did not want to act until they found the body. But this also contradicts with the outcome: they were searching for body with grand pomp and ceremony while the suspect had run off.
The amazing thing is the most important question: why are the politicians who run the security forces unable to agree?


BBM

To the remarks of Francisco Pérez Abellán I would like to add my own two cents.

It was said that MAMB fled from his home and hid as a pilgrim on the Camino because the strain of being under sureveillance had become too much for him. His only mistake would have been that he took money from an ATM and hence the Police could trace him.

I have my doubts about this. First, he told his father that he was planning to do the Camino. Second, he had enough money stashed away under the floor of his house. Even with a few thousand €€ he might have been on the various Caminos for months. No need to take money from an ATM. IMHO he took money from a cash machine because he wasn't suspecting at all that he was being followed.

He managed to leave his house and take the bus from Astorga to Oviedo without the Police noticing. Earlier, he allegedly managed to dig up the remains of Denise and transport the body in a wheelbarrow over uneven terrain and a main road to the place where it was found months later. This must have happened at night, because the Police did not notice. Or the Police did not notice any of this because it did not happen at all.

IMHO the surveillance wasn't 24 / 7 and MAMB did not flee but left on a holiday.
Etapa 6 of the Camino Primitivo runs from La Mesa to Grandas de Salime where he was arrested. http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/los-caminos-de-santiago/primitivo/
An etapa is NOT a day walk, there are albergues in between. Miguel Angel had aready been missing for at least 10 days when he was located and it is not clear when the Police became aware that he was missing.

I wonder if his presence on this (or any other) Camino coincides with thefts or other crimes.

:twocents: