Leonte death still unsolved one year on from her disappearance

A femur and vertebrae have been linked to the victim through DNA testing but police say discovery of skull would provide a vital clue

Eugenio Cabezas

Monday, 22 June 2020, 16:47

June 22nd marks the first anniversary of the disappearance of 31-year-old Romanian woman, Dana Leonte, whose case has remained a mystery since she went missing from her home in Arenas.

Although DNA tests have linked bones located in land around the Axarquía town between September 2019 and March to the mother-of-one, police have been unable to find answers to her death.

On 25 September 2019 a femur bone was found on land some six kilometres from the house Leonte shared with her partner, Sergio Ruiz and their baby daughter. DNA checks proved it to belong to the victim. Other bones including vertebrae, fingers and toes have also been linked to Leonte. However, the search had to be called off at the start of the coronavirus lockdown in mid March.

Police are still hoping to find the woman's skull as they say it should provide vital clues as to how died.

Ruiz is currently the only suspect in the case and remains in Albolote prison in Granada as his family have been unable to raise the 17,000 euro bail money needed for his release. He has maintained that he is innocent since he was first arrested last September.

The woman's brother, Florín Leonte, is fighting for custody of the couple's daughter, who is currently in the care of Ruiz's brother, Estanislao.

Top 50

Esta funcionalidad es exclusiva para registrados.

Reporta un error en esta noticia