Father tips off police after killer uses webcam to show body

A MAN accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend used a webcam to show her body to his father, who notified authorities before the young man could harm his girlfriend's younger sister, Spanish police said yesterday.

Dorel Marcu, 21, allegedly strangled his 19-year-old girlfriend in their apartment and then told his father after showing him the corpse that the victim's sister "would face the same fate", Spain's national police said.

Officers detained Marcu on Monday afternoon after his father, who was in Romania, called police there, who contacted Spain. The 13-year-old sister was not harmed, said Emilio Alcazar, a national police commander.

Romanian regional police spokeswoman Luciana Baltes said that the father contacted police on Monday from the Transylvanian city of Copsa Mica, some 200 miles north-west of Bucharest.

She said Marcu showed the body to the father and said, "I will kill her sister."

"He alerted us and we moved very quickly," she said. It took Spanish officers about 45 minutes to arrive at the apartment following the tip from their Romanian counterparts, Mr Alcazar said.

The young sister was not in the home at the time of the killing, but arrived there shortly before officers, he said. The suspect told her that her sister was resting, and police found the victim dead in a bed.

Officers also found the girlfriend's three-year-old daughter unharmed in their apartment in the Madrid suburb of Torrejon de Ardoz. The suspect had no criminal record and did not resist arrest, Mr Alcazar said.

Authorities were investigating whether Marcu thought his girlfriend's unborn baby was not his, Mr Alcazar said.

The suspect's father, who has the same name as his son, told Romanian television that his son admitted strangling the girlfriend with a tie after she attacked him with a lampshade.

The father also said the couple frequently argued and that the girlfriend had said her unborn child was not the suspect's.

"I ran to the police to tell them so they could prevent my son from hanging himself," the father said.

Dorel Marcu, 21, allegedly strangled his 19-year-old girlfriend in their apartment and then told his father after showing him the corpse that the victim's sister "would face the same fate", Spain's national police said.

Officers detained Marcu on Monday afternoon after his father, who was in Romania, called police there, who contacted Spain. The 13-year-old sister was not harmed, said Emilio Alcazar, a national police commander.

Romanian regional police spokeswoman Luciana Baltes said that the father contacted police on Monday from the Transylvanian city of Copsa Mica, some 200 miles north-west of Bucharest.

She said Marcu showed the body to the father and said, "I will kill her sister."

"He alerted us and we moved very quickly," she said.It took Spanish officers about 45 minutes to arrive at the apartment following the tip from their Romanian counterparts, Mr Alcazar said.

The young sister was not in the home at the time of the killing, but arrived there shortly before officers, he said. The suspect told her that her sister was resting, and police found the victim dead in a bed.

Officers also found the girlfriend's three-year-old daughter unharmed in their apartment in the Madrid suburb of Torrejon de Ardoz. The suspect had no criminal record and did not resist arrest, Mr Alcazar said.

Authorities were investigating whether Marcu thought his girlfriend's unborn baby was not his, Mr Alcazar said.

The suspect's father, who has the same name as his son, told Romanian television that his son admitted strangling the girlfriend with a tie after she attacked him with a lampshade.

The father also said the couple frequently argued and that the girlfriend had said her unborn child was not the suspect's.

"I ran to the police to tell them so they could prevent my son from hanging himself," the father said.