ANABEL Segura’s disappearance is the longest reported kidnapping case in Spain’s history.
The case is featured in the Netflix true crime docuseries 900 Days Without Anabel Segura. Here we look at one of her kidnappers, Emilio Muñoz Guadix, and where he is now.
On April 12, 1993, 22-year-old Anabel Segura went for a jog in her quiet neighbourhood of La Moraleja — a suburb of Madrid, Spain.
What began as a routine morning exercise turned into one of Spain’s most notorious criminal cases.
Anabel was abducted during her morning run, sparking an extensive search and investigation.
Emilio Muñoz Guadix and Candido Ortiz Aon forced her into their van at knifepoint.
The case quickly gained national attention.
Spanish authorities launched a massive manhunt to locate Anabel, as well as a prolonged investigation to apprehend her kidnappers.
The kidnappers made contact with Anabel’s family, initiating a tense period of negotiations that would last an agonizing 900 days.
Despite the manhunt, investigation and negotiations, Anabel Segura did not survive her ordeal.
The case, which became known as the longest kidnapping in Spanish history, came to a heartbreaking conclusion.
Anabel was killed just six hours after her disappearance, although her kidnappers continued to demand ransom for years afterward.
The kidnappers made 14 calls between 1993 and 1995, reportedly demanding up to 150 million pesetas (€900,000) from Anabel’s family.
Her parents even mortgaged their home to raise funds to both pay the ransom and offer a reward — the Spanish Interior Ministry also offered a reward.
The family received a recording the kidnapper claimed to be of Anabel’s voice, but it was later revealed to be fake.
Anabel’s parents are not dominated by hate but they want the full weight of the law and justice against the kidnappers and killers of Anabel
Segura Family Lawyer
It had not been made by Anabel, but by a female accomplice of the kidnappers — Felicia Garcia.
The recording said: ”I want to be home with you… I really want to see you all. This is what you have to do to end this quickly. See you later, Daddy. Goodbye Mummy. Sister, I love you very much. Goodbye.”
The parents had the ransom money ready within two days, but it was never collected.
Anabel’s body was finally discovered in September 30, 1995 — 900 days after her disappearance — at an abandoned warehouse.
The arrests were made partly due to media involvement after police released a recording of one of the kidnapper’s voices on TV, leading to crucial information from the public.
The breakthrough in the case came when police arrested three suspects: Emilio Muñoz Guadix, Candido Ortiz Aon and Felisa Garcia.
They were detained in a village in the Toledo province after a tip-off from a member of the public, who recognized one of their voices from the TV appeal featuring the recording.
The suspects led police to Anabel’s remains in an abandoned warehouse near Toledo, about 40 miles south of Madrid.
The family lawyer, who attended a busy press conference on the day of the discovery of her body, said: ”Anabel’s parents are not dominated by hate but they want the full weight of the law and justice against the kidnappers and killers of Anabel.”
Emilio Muñoz Guadix was one of the individuals convicted for the kidnapping and murder of Anabel Segura.
He was sentenced to 43 years in prison for his role in this heinous crime.
However, Muñoz Guadix was released from prison on November 27, 2013, following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that affected the application of Spain’s Parot doctrine.
The Parot doctrine was a 2006 Spanish legal ruling that changed how prison sentences were calculated for serious offenders.
It applied sentence reductions to each individual crime rather than the overall sentence, effectively extending prison terms.
This controversial practice was later deemed a human rights violation and abandoned in 2013 — leading to Muñoz Guadix’s release.
Upon his release from the Herrera de La Mancha penitentiary, Muñoz Guadix expressed remorse for his actions, stating that he was sorry for the crimes he committed and claiming that he no longer posed a threat to society.
His release, along with that of other convicted criminals, sparked significant debate and controversy in Spain regarding sentencing practices and public safety.
The release of Muñoz Guadix was not due to a reevaluation of his crimes, but rather a legal technicality related to how sentence reductions were applied under Spanish law.
The ECHR ruling forced Spain’s judiciary to repeal the Parot doctrine, which had previously allowed for longer effective sentences.
The current whereabouts of Muñoz Guadix is not publicly known.
His last reported location was in 2013 when he was released from prison.
Netflix is set to release a groundbreaking documentary series titled 900 Days Without Anabel.
This series promises to offer an unprecedented look into the Anabel Segura case, featuring never-before-heard recordings of negotiations between the police and the kidnappers.
It also includes re-enactments and testimonies from Anabel’s relatives, investigators and experts.
The three-part doc drops on Netflix on November 22, 2024.
