What we know so far about the killing of a Singaporean woman in Spain

SINGAPORE: Singaporean woman Audrey Fang, who was on a solo trip to Spain, was found dead with 30 stab wounds in a small town about 150km away from her hotel.

In the days that followed, police tracked down the vehicle that picked her up and arrested a Singaporean man, named by a Spanish media outlet on Saturday (Apr 20) as 43-year-old Mitchell Ong.

He appeared in court on Friday and was remanded in custody, pending investigations.

This is what we know about the case so far:

BODY FOUND WITH STAB WOUNDS

Ms Fang, 39, arrived in Spain on Apr 4 and had been due to return to Singapore on Apr 12. 

On Apr 10, family and friends reportedly said she had become uncontactable and was missing. She was last seen on Apr 9 leaving her luxury hotel in the town of Javea at about 8.45pm. Her belongings were left in her room.

Shortly after she was reported missing, a woman's body with 30 stab wounds was found near a parking area for lorries in the town of Abanilla. This was about 150km away from Ms Fang's hotel.

The body was discovered by the chief inspector of the local police division while he was on his way to breakfast at a restaurant near the RM-422 highway in Abanilla.

It was later identified by her family as Ms Fang.

SUSPECTED KILLER ARRESTED

The Spanish Civil Guard - a national police force - later said she was picked up by a black car on Apr 9.

It released closed-circuit camera footage showing the vehicle in a car park, before Ong is seen at a car park payment machine.

The video released by the Spanish Civil Guard also showed investigators searching a hotel room and taking pictures.

Ong was arrested on Apr 16 in Alicante in connection with her death. Alicante is about 80km away from Ms Fang’s hotel.

At the time of his arrest, the authorities did not reveal the nature of his relationship with Ms Fang.

On Apr 17, Ms Fang's family arrived in Spain and identified the body.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said then that Singapore’s honorary consulate-general in Madrid has been in contact with local authorities about the case.

It added that MFA and the honorary consulate-general have been providing consular assistance and support to her family.

REMANDED IN CUSTODY

On Apr 19, Ong was taken into a court in Murcia by two Spanish Civil Guard officers. He was not offered bail and was remanded in custody while investigations were ongoing.

A preliminary autopsy report showed that Ms Fang had suffered knife wounds and trauma to her head, which caused her death.

Forensic teams said the necessary samples had been collected and her body could be released for repatriation if the court authorised it.

The Spanish Civil Guard said then that they were still investigating the motive behind the killing.

On Apr 20, La Verdad de Murcia identified Ong. Two other media outlets La Opinión de Murcia and Levante El Mercantil Valenciano, identified him with his initials “OM”.

According to Levante El Mercantil Valenciano, the police have proven that both Ms Fang's and Ong's mobile phones were together in Abanilla on the day of her death.

She was not sexually assaulted, according to the report.

It added that Ms Fang and the suspect had known each other for many years and that there might have been an "economic motive" for the incident. She had reportedly transferred money to an unidentified third person.