An Irish man whose body was found buried beside a Spanish motorway last week was beaten to death by someone who knew him, local police believe.
Four people have been arrested and remanded in custody in relation to the death of Carl Carr, a 38-year-old man from Dublin who moved to Spain three years ago.
One of those facing charges for his murder is a Kilkenny man in his late 30s who was a close friend of Mr Carr’s.
Two women, including one from the UK, and one Spanish man, have also been arrested. A fifth woman has since been released without charge.
Mr Carr’s body was found last week buried by the AP-7 motorway between Benijofar and Algorfa, a 20-minute drive north of where he was last seen in September.
Spanish police believe he was beaten to death in the apartment where he lived in Torrevieja on the Costa Blanca.
Investigators believe Mr Carr could have been killed because he was having an affair with a woman close to the killer.
None of the four suspects remanded in custody on Saturday morning have yet been charged, as is normal in Spain where formal charges are laid only shortly before trial.
Murder or homicide
Court sources have confirmed the ongoing judicial investigation is a murder or homicide case. The charges the accused eventually face will depend on the extra information investigators glean from the investigation.
Mr Carr's mother, Marie Carr, has said her son's death had nothing to do with drugs and said he was killed over a suspected "love triangle" involving one of the two women arrested.
However, Spanish police are also exploring the possibility the victim was murdered over a drug debt.
Mr Carr has a history of drug dealing and was known to have been involved in the cannabis trade while living in Spain.
He was one of three men jailed in December 2008 in Ireland after being caught with heroin and cocaine worth €1.43 million. He received an eight-year sentence.
“I believe he was killed because of a romantic triangle, by a man he knew who accused him of dating one of his girlfriends,” Ms Carr said. “Carl’s been described as a drugs baron when nothing could be further from the truth.
“He was arrested in Ireland simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was told to pick up a locked bag he had no idea contained drugs. He only did it because he had just come back from Australia and he had no money and he was getting paid.”