The Civil Guard Solves George's Murder: An Investigation from Benidorm to Portugal

Around the end of 2024, John George, a Northern Irish citizen, disappeared. Like many other young Britons, he had come to the province of Alicante to have fun, soak up the sun, and enjoy life with friends. However, fate had different plans. It was his father who reported his disappearance in December after speaking with him. Tragically, two weeks after the report, the Civil Guard found the young man's body. Five months later, they solved the case and arrested two individuals as the alleged accomplice and the material author of the crime.

It was not easy. Investigators had to travel from Benidorm to Rojales and from Vega Baja to Portugal to capture the alleged perpetrators of George's murder.

The investigation began after receiving the report from the victim's father, who on December 21 informed the Civil Guard in Xàbia that he had not been in contact with his son, a 37-year-old man, since Saturday, December 14, when he last spoke to him by phone. According to his account to the officers, his son had come to the province of Alicante to spend a few days with friends, having arrived from Ireland.

Believing he was in Benidorm and unable to locate him, the father traveled to Spain with the intention of finding him and informed the Civil Guard at that time.

The Civil Guard then began reconstructing what might have happened. The investigation started from the moment the missing young man arrived in Spain on December 6, 2024. They located the people who had contact with him from that day and gathered witness statements.

Around the day the victim last contacted his father, he was reportedly in the company of two individuals, who became the main suspects in his disappearance, which the Civil Guard already suspected was involuntary. The autopsy revealed that the death occurred on the night of December 14 due to gunshot wounds. It was the same day the victim last spoke to his father and a week before the father reported the disappearance.

After an intensive Christmas of work, on the morning of January 7, the Judicial Police agents found the missing man's body in a rural area of Rojales, where they had focused their search in recent days.

That same day, just a couple of hours after the lifeless body of the young Irishman was found, the Civil Guard arrested one of the two involved in his murder, a 32-year-old man residing in Torrevieja and of Czech nationality, who is attributed the role of necessary collaborator. After being brought before the Court of Instruction number 2 of Torrevieja, he was released with charges, prohibiting him from leaving the country's territory, among other precautionary measures.

Meanwhile, the Civil Guard continued their efforts to track down the other suspect, considered the material author of the homicide. According to information gathered by investigators, after committing the crime that ended the young Irishman's life, and once the family reported his disappearance, he fled the country in haste, accompanied by his partner. He even abandoned two dogs at the residence where he lived in Spain, trying to avoid capture.

The Civil Guard then requested a European arrest warrant for the fugitive and the collaboration of several foreign police forces through Interpol. Thanks to the monitoring being carried out from Spain, the suspect was located in the Portuguese town of Braga on March 25. The Portuguese police arrested the alleged perpetrator, who was extradited to Spain on April 3.

After being brought before the Court of Instruction number 1 of Badajoz, his imprisonment without bail was decreed. He is a 27-year-old man of Irish origin with numerous prior convictions in his home country.

The investigation was carried out by the Organic Unit of the Judicial Police (UOPJ) of the Civil Guard of Alicante, mainly by the Judicial Police Team of Pilar de la Horadada along with the Criminalistics Laboratory of the Command, and the international support of the police from several European countries, specifically the Portuguese police.