Irishman in provisional jail over body part of German man found in trash container in Barcelona
Killed individual had rented rooms to alleged murderer and to Ukrainian national, released after arrest
Catalan police – the Mossos d'Esquadra – have arrested two men, aged 31 and 51, related to a body part from a German man aged approximately 50 found in a trash container in Barcelona's Eixample district last Tuesday.
One of them, an Irish national, the elder one, was sent to provisional jail, while the other one, a Ukrainian man, was provisionally released but banned from traveling abroad.
Police sources said that as part of the ongoing investigation, a residence in the city of Barcelona was identified with indications linking it to the possible violent death of the victim.
Indeed, they believe that the murdered man had rented rooms to both of the arrested individuals in the flat where he also lived, in 91, Casanova street, Barcelona.
Some neighbors told the Catalan News Agency that the man who died was "strange" and was often on drugs. "He always received a lot of visits of men," a neighbor said.
"It took us all by surprise because this is a very quiet area," they said.
According to the same sources, the Irishman arrested "was often drunk" and had rented a room "a couple of weeks ago," the same as the Ukrainian national.
They also explained that the German man had been around five years living in the flat.
Dumpster diver noticed body part
The container where the torso was discovered, as well as the adjacent containers, were taken to police stations for analysis last Tuesday.
A dumpster diver noticed the body part in a container between Casanova Street and Roma Avenue shortly before 11am on November 30, after which he alerted a nearby tobacconist. The two inspected the container and notified an ambulance that was passing by, the owner of the tobacco shop told the Catalan News Agency (ACN).
The ambulance staff began examining the remains and contacted the police at around 11am, who cordoned off the area and checked the gray trash container, in which they found a suitcase and a bag.
A magistrate, lawyer, prosecutor and forensic expert went to the restricted area to carry out their duties around 1.30pm before allowing the removal of the corpse.