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Date Published: 13/01/2023

ARCHIVED - Ex-boyfriend confesses to decapitating woman whose mutilated body washed up on a Marbella beach

ARCHIVED ARTICLE -

DNA has confirmed the corpse belongs to a 46-year-old woman called Natalie who disappeared from the Malaga resort in January

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Ex-boyfriend confesses to decapitating woman whose mutilated body washed up on a Marbella beach

A 45-year-old Colombian man has confessed to killing and mutilating his former girlfriend whose headless body was discovered without hands on Las Cañas beach between Elviria and Las Chapas in Marbella.

The macabre discovery was made by diners at a nearby restaurant on Sunday afternoon, January 8 and police confirmed she may have been dead for between 24 and 36 hours.

The main suspect – Lionel H, a married man with two children – was in a relationship with the deceased, identified as a domestic worker called Natalie through DNA, for five months during which time he allegedly physically abused her.

After initially denying any involvement in her death, he eventually admitted killing Natalie, also Colombian, who disappeared in January after reporting the detainee for domestic violence two months earlier. He even took part in a chilling reconstruction on the beach where he violently murdered her (see video).

🚔Resolvemos el #homicidio de la mujer que fue hallada muerta en una playa de #Marbella

🚨 Detenidos dos individuos

👉 El autor material se trata de la expareja de la víctima, que ha reconocido el crimen en sede #policial pic.twitter.com/sK1sLLIPSj
— Policía Nacional (@policia) January 12, 2023

Natalie was last seen leaving a house in Marbella where she worked as a cleaner, and the last time family spoke to her was on January 6 when she had a telephone conversation with a son she has in Colombia.

When her brothers heard about the macabre find on social networks, they contacted police and told them about their missing sister and her ex boyfriend's alleged abuse.

The victim's former partner was arrested, but at that time, the body had not been formally identified – a process complicated by the lack of fingerprints and dental records – and there was no evidence linking the suspect to the death.

However, he was in breach of a restraining order imposed against him following numerous complaints by Natalie.

Lionel H. was arrested on Monday and after confessing to killing Natalie, implied he had an accomplice. One of his friends was subsequently also detained on Wednesday January 11.

Natalie's ex appeared in court on Thursday where he admitted murdering and mutilating her.

He said he and his friend arranged to meet Natalie at the beach on January 7. He said he "gave his ex-girlfriend a blow" before chopping off her head and hands and throwing her corpse into the sea.

The following afternoon, her decapitated body, which also had a large cut from one side of the stomach to the other, was spotted.

The diners initially tried to go into the water to rescue Natalie, presuming it was a bather in distress, but police, who had responded to their emergency call, advised them against it due to the adverse weather conditions.

The strong waves carried the corpse to a rocky area on the shore where Natalie's butchered body was recovered and taken to the Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) in Malaga for a post mortem.

Police initially theorised the body could have been that of a 'mule', the term for a person who transports drugs inside their stomach, due to the large gash across the abdomen. This hypothesis was quickly ruled out when the main suspect was arrested.

Image: Policía Nacional

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