Judge orders trial

A judge at Court of First Instance No. 2 in Sabadell has ordered oral trial proceedings against Santiago Laiglesia, the only defendant the prosecution and the victim's family have charged. The order followed a preliminary hearing held on Friday, 16 October 2026, at which his defence asked for the case to be shelved. The judge provisionally dismissed the case against Xavier Jiménez, because neither the prosecution nor the private accusation had asked for him to stand trial. Prosecutors and the family are seeking 26 years in prison for murder and illegal detention. In the order, the court wrote:

“Rational indications of criminality exist against the accused, now charged, for his alleged participation in the offences.”

LaSexta reports the case will go before a popular jury, while El Periódico says the trial is due to take place at the Audiencia de Barcelona in 2027.

Defence challenges the DNA evidence

At the hearing, defence lawyer Jaime Lapaz asked for the case to be shelved and argued that the DNA on the victim's sweater could have arrived through an 'indirect transfer'. He questioned the chain of custody of the garment and suggested the DNA reached it because Laiglesia had worked as an intern at the law firm of Montserrat Careta's lawyer, who had requested access to the evidence, a request the court granted. According to the defence, the contamination happened when the exhibits were handled. The family's lawyer, Benet Salellas, rejected the claim in court, saying:

“The contamination hypothesis is fictitious and has no legal basis.”

Sources also said the victim's underwear disappeared from its evidence envelope during the investigation, and that police flagged the underwear envelope as 'unsealed and empty' when they collected exhibits for final DNA tests. The judge rejected the defence's request for further investigative steps, saying the investigation had been completed.

Evidence and detention

Police found Laiglesia's DNA on a sweater the victim wore, which had been found folded among other garments on the rooftop. A report from the police forensic laboratory, cited by El Mundo, said the DNA was 26 trillion times more likely to come from Laiglesia than from any other person. A judge ordered him jailed after he was summoned to testify, and he remained in prison for five weeks, according to LaVanguardia. The Audiencia de Barcelona later overturned the jailing, ruling out a flight risk, and imposed a passport withdrawal and monthly court appearances, according to ABC. Earlier, Laiglesia had said his DNA could have been transferred through a hug or friendly contact in the days before the events.

The 2001 killing

The victim, a 27-year-old woman librarian, was taken at midday on 30 November 2001 and did not turn up for her afternoon shift at a library in Sentmenat. According to the prosecution's filing, one or more people drugged her before 4.45 am on 2 December 2001, and she was held for about forty hours. Early on 2 December she was thrown naked from the rooftop of a four-storey building in Sabadell, and police found her body with burns. Police arrested Montserrat Careta, who lived in the flat with Laiglesia, and another member of the hiking group months later. Careta maintained her innocence and died in prison in 2002.

Family and next steps

Before the hearing, Joan Jubany, the victim's brother, said the family hoped the trial would take place as soon as possible and without further delays. He added:

“The family is seeking to know the truth.”

Both the prosecution and the private accusation have said the challenge to the chain of custody should be debated at the oral trial stage.