Netflix prepares Daniel Sancho miniseries as Isabel Fuentes documentary arrives 6 November

Documentary on the Pazos case

Netflix will premiere the documentary Desprotexida: El crimen de Pazos on 6 November. The film reconstructs the case of Isabel Fuentes, who was left gravely injured in her home in the village of Pazos, in Verín, in April 2015 after an alleged robbery. The Guardia Civil sergeant leading the investigation suspected the account did not fit and tried to protect her from a further attack. Thirty-seven days after the attack, Isabel was killed in the hospital room where she was recovering. The documentary is created by True Crime Factory, with executive production by Carles Porta and Pablo Fernández Masó, and is directed and written by Jorge Laplace.

Laplace says the project grew out of a question he could not answer.

When I learned Isabel Fuentes's story, what struck me most was not only the crime, but an uncomfortable question I could not explain: how was it possible for her to be killed in a hospital when it was known she was in danger?

Fiction series and cast

The fiction series El crimen de Pazos premieres on Friday 13 November, according to La Razón. Tristán Ulloa plays a Guardia Civil sergeant, Elías, who is convinced that Aniceto is responsible for the attack on Irene and who faces a system that seems unwilling to listen to his warnings. The three episodes are written by Ramón Campos, David Orea, Curro Serrano and Gema R. Neira, and Carlos Sedes directs. The cast includes Carlos Blanco and Fer Fraga, with a special collaboration from Verónica Sánchez and Edu Soto. A trailer of less than a minute has already been released, and Bambú Producciones is credited as producer of the series.

Daniel Sancho miniseries

Netflix is preparing an untitled fiction miniseries inspired by the Daniel Sancho case. Martiño Rivas will star, and filming will take place in various locations in Thailand and Spain, with production starting soon. Bambú Producciones, producer of El caso Asunta, is behind the project, with Ramón Campos as executive producer. Netflix has not yet confirmed which character Rivas will play, who else is in the cast, or a release date. Rivas previously worked with the platform on Las chicas del cable and El problema final.

Court record in the Sancho case

The case began in August 2023 with the death of Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta on the Thai island of Koh Phangan. Sancho was detained a few days later and charged with premeditated murder, concealing the body and destroying the victim's passport. In August 2024 a court in Koh Samui found him guilty of premeditated murder, citing earlier purchases of knives, a saw and plastic bags, and sentenced him to life imprisonment and compensation for the victim's family. During the investigation Sancho admitted responsibility for the death, but at trial he said Arrieta died during a fight and denied planning the crime.

Appeal and next steps

The Thai justice system confirmed the conviction on appeal on 25 September. Sancho's defense has now taken the case to the Supreme Court of Thailand in an attempt to have the ruling reviewed. Sancho remains in Surat Thani prison, where he is serving his sentence. The Netflix series is being produced while the legal process continues.

Netflix's true crime strategy

Netflix is pairing fiction and documentary on Spanish true crime cases. Bambú Producciones has worked on El caso Asunta, starring Candela Peña and Tristán Ulloa, and on El crimen de Pazos, and is also preparing En el nombre de Marta, inspired by the disappearance and murder of Marta del Castillo. The Pazos documentary arrives a week before its fiction counterpart, and the Sancho miniseries has no announced release date yet.