A Spanish court has sentenced a Pakistani national to 36 years in prison for the brutal murder of three elderly siblings in a town near Madrid, following a case linked to unpaid debts arising from an online romance scam. The verdict has drawn widespread attention in Spain due to the shocking nature of the crime and the vulnerability of the victims.
The convicted man, identified as 44-year-old Dilawar Hussain, was found guilty by a jury in October for killing two sisters and their disabled brother in Morata de Tajuña in December 2023. All three victims were in their seventies and were discovered dead inside their home, with their bodies partially burned in an apparent attempt to conceal the crime.
In November, a Madrid court formally sentenced Hussain to 12 years in prison for each murder, bringing the total sentence to 36 years. The court cited a “psychological alteration” as a mitigating factor when determining the punishment. Despite the sentencing, Hussain has filed an appeal against the ruling.
According to investigators, Hussain surrendered himself to police shortly after the crime and confessed to the killings. Authorities said the victims died after being severely beaten, reportedly with an iron bar. The violent attack shocked the local community, where the siblings were known to live quietly.
During the trial, Hussain asked the court for forgiveness and claimed that he was not in a stable mental state at the time. He told the court that he had “heard voices” and suggested that this impaired his judgment during the incident. However, prosecutors argued that the crime was driven by financial motives rather than a sudden psychological breakdown.
Court findings and media reports revealed that the murders were linked to a fake online romance scam that had left the sisters heavily in debt. The women believed they were in relationships with two US servicemen and were persuaded to send money after being told that one had died and the other needed funds to access a multi-million-euro inheritance.
Hussain, who was renting a room in the siblings’ home, had lent them around 60,000 euros, which they were unable to repay. The court also noted that he had previously assaulted one of the sisters with a hammer earlier in 2023, an offence for which he received a suspended sentence.
In a further development, Hussain is now set to face another trial after being accused of killing a 39-year-old Bulgarian cellmate in a Madrid prison in February 2024 while awaiting trial for the siblings’ murders.
