A potential murder may have been partially solved, after police found a man loading a human-like figure into a back of a car on Google Street View.

Back in November 2023, in the small town of Tajueco in the province of Soria, Castile and León, Spain, a 33-year-old resident of the nearby city of Soria was reported missing. His cousin, a Cuban national, had become suspicious after they received unusual WhatsApp messages from the missing man, claiming that he had met a woman and would be leaving the area and not bringing his phone with him, and reported it to the police.

On December 11, a month after the man was reported missing, the police found a “torso in an advanced state of decay," disposed of in a nearby cemetery, according to Spanish publication El País. According to the police, a key part of unlocking the case was the discovery of photos of the potential victim being loaded into the back of a car, and a second photo showing a body-like figure being loaded into a wheelbarrow in a different area of the town. In a case of fortunate timing, the Google Street View car had not photographed the location in 15 years.

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In November 2024, a woman who police say was in a relationship with the victim was arrested, as well as a man said to be her ex-partner. They add that the Google Maps evidence was useful, though not "decisive" in investigating the case. Residents of the town said that they had seen the image on Google Maps in the interim, but did not think at the time that the alleged perpetrator/s were doing anything suspicious.

The two remain in custody while investigations continue.