1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:04,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm 2 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:12,240 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky Listener discretion advised. On the 3 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:17,000 Speaker 1: morning of August one, nineteen eighty, a Spanish nobleman and 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,920 Speaker 1: his wife, the Marquis and Marchioness of Arquillo, had just 5 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 1: moved into their summer chalet in Soto Grande, right outside 6 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 1: of Madrid, where they would spend the entire month of August. 7 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:33,640 Speaker 1: But neither of them, Maria lords or Quillo nor Manuel 8 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:37,760 Speaker 1: de la Sierre Torres, her husband, came down for breakfast 9 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: that morning. When the Marquis's driver arrived at the chalet, 10 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: he told the cook how strange it was that they 11 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,559 Speaker 1: had slept in so late. They called them on the 12 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:52,599 Speaker 1: internal line in the house and no one answered. When 13 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: they went up to the Marquis's room, they found that 14 00:00:55,960 --> 00:01:00,120 Speaker 1: Maria lords or Quillo and Manuel de la Sierre Torres 15 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 1: had been murdered. Aside from the cook, there hadn't been 16 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: any other domestic workers in the house. Maria and Manuel 17 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:13,639 Speaker 1: had encouraged them to take the previous afternoon and evening off. 18 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:17,480 Speaker 1: The cook would later tell the police that she hadn't 19 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 1: heard anything. Even more inexplicable was that Bully, the marquess's 20 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:29,000 Speaker 1: famously loud poodle, didn't bark even once that night. It 21 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: seemed like whoever had carried out the murders knew the 22 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 1: house well. The killer got in through the indoor pool, 23 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:41,440 Speaker 1: using a blow torch to activate the latch and get 24 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: into the main house. Even though they broke through the 25 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 1: glass door in the back of the house, no glass 26 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:51,960 Speaker 1: shattered to the ground. They knew where the alarm was 27 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 1: and switched it off. Nothing was stolen. There was no 28 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: clear suspect. Initially, Maria and Manuel's children, Miriam and Juan, 29 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 1: were considered. After all, the nobles had forty three million 30 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:12,240 Speaker 1: pesitas that their children could have inherited upon their parents' deaths, 31 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:18,120 Speaker 1: but both had alibis. Miriam was with her lover, Richard Rue, 32 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:22,360 Speaker 1: a coworker from her office whom the press nicknamed Dick 33 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:27,240 Speaker 1: the American, and Juan was in London getting a master's 34 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:31,960 Speaker 1: degree in finance. When the police finally did arrive at 35 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:38,239 Speaker 1: the scene, they discovered one even stranger detail. Someone had 36 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 1: already washed the blood off of Maria and Manuel's bodies. 37 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 1: I'm Danish Schwartz and this is noble blood with no 38 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 1: suspect in sight. The investigator on the case declared, quote, 39 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 1: this case is inexplicable. After spending a few hours at 40 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 1: the crime scene. The case would remain inexplicable four months. 41 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: The police couldn't find any solid evidence that could pin 42 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: anyone to the murders. There was no murder weapon, no DNA, 43 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: just a few bullet casings at the marquess's summer house. 44 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: This didn't stop the press from speculating about the culprit 45 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: of course. By nineteen eighty, the Franco dictatorship had been 46 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 1: over for just five years and journalists were eager to 47 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: flex their new freedom of expression. Besides, in the middle 48 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 1: of the summer heat, when many Spaniards were on vacation, 49 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 1: there was barely any other news to report on. On 50 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 1: August second, nineteen eighty, the only other story making it 51 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:55,200 Speaker 1: to the front page of a major Spanish newspaper, El Pais, 52 00:03:55,760 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 1: was government vacations paralyzed political activity. The case would only 53 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 1: pick up steam as months passed and the press speculated 54 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: on potential culprits. Readers devoured stories about the iquios in 55 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: various newspapers and weeklies, theorizing that the murderer was a 56 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:23,719 Speaker 1: member of the Basque nationalist terrorist group. ETA later that 57 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 1: it was a hit man, or even that it could 58 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:30,240 Speaker 1: have been a former domestic worker fired for a gay 59 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:36,480 Speaker 1: affair with the marquess. A clear suspect finally emerged nearly 60 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 1: a year after the murders. One morning in April nineteen 61 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 1: eighty one, a child playing in the San Juan reservoir 62 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:49,480 Speaker 1: in Madrid found a pistol on the shore. This gun 63 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:53,360 Speaker 1: matched the one that had killed the Marquesses of Quillo, 64 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 1: a small twenty two caliber pistol with a silencer. It 65 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:03,040 Speaker 1: was registered in the name of Miguel Escobedo, the father 66 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:08,360 Speaker 1: of Rafi de Escovedo, the Marquess's estranged son in law, 67 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 1: who was married to their daughter, Miriam. Rafi Escobedo was 68 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: a handsome law school dropout and a known playboy. Like 69 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:23,159 Speaker 1: the Marquesses, he was also a noble, as his mom 70 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 1: was from the Prada Armeno family, but his parents had 71 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 1: fallen on hard times. His family's dire financial circumstances didn't 72 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: get in the way of his social life. He spent 73 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:41,280 Speaker 1: his teens and early twenties cavorting with Madrid's young elite 74 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:45,640 Speaker 1: Miriam de la Sierra, the marquess's daughter, and Raffi, met 75 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:50,159 Speaker 1: at their equestrian club when she was twenty. Miriam developed 76 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:54,480 Speaker 1: a crush instantly. She wrote in her memoirs, quote Raffi 77 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 1: was very attentive, charismatic, friendly, and very affectionate. He was 78 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 1: all he's making plans. He took me to parties. He 79 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:08,160 Speaker 1: even taught me how to dress differently. Raffi provided a 80 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:14,360 Speaker 1: refreshing contrast to Miriam's strict upbringing. Her father was known 81 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:18,360 Speaker 1: for being stingy with his kids, to such an extent 82 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:22,719 Speaker 1: that Miriam and Juan were called the poor in their 83 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 1: posh circle of friends. She started working at the age 84 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 1: of fourteen to earn her own money. With no allowance 85 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: to speak of, Miriam hoped that with her responsible, practical attitude, 86 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:41,360 Speaker 1: she could clean up Raffi's act. She wrote in her memoirs, 87 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:45,719 Speaker 1: I love being a mother to everyone. Raffi was like 88 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 1: a child, attractive, charming, friendly. So with Raffi, I adopted 89 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:56,039 Speaker 1: the same role of savior. I wanted to transform him. 90 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:01,600 Speaker 1: Being so young and sheltered, Miriam wasn't yet aware that 91 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:06,400 Speaker 1: an I can fix him. Attitude doesn't exactly bode well 92 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:11,480 Speaker 1: for a couple. The Marquesses were not so naive. They 93 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: strongly objected to their daughter's marriage, since Raphael had no 94 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:21,040 Speaker 1: job or prospects, but Miriam stuck to her guns, and 95 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:23,800 Speaker 1: after a year and a half of dating, the couple 96 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:27,640 Speaker 1: married at the Church of Humera on June twenty first, 97 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:32,520 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy eight, with all members of the high society, 98 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:37,400 Speaker 1: from the Duchess of Alba to the Egyptian ambassador in attendance. 99 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:47,239 Speaker 1: The marriage deteriorated almost immediately, as soon as Miriam said, 100 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:52,520 Speaker 1: I do she regretted marrying Rafi. They started out living 101 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:56,320 Speaker 1: with her parents in their summer home in Sasagas, but 102 00:07:56,440 --> 00:08:01,600 Speaker 1: they clashed constantly. Once Rafai even called the Marquess his 103 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:07,440 Speaker 1: father in law a quote pig, miser and cretan. In response, 104 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:12,040 Speaker 1: the Marquess threatened to cut Rafae off without a passetta. 105 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 1: Sick of fighting with Raffi, the Marquesses threw the young 106 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 1: couple out of their house. The newlyweds went to live 107 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:25,320 Speaker 1: in an apartment in Madrid, where they suffered various periods 108 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:30,760 Speaker 1: of financial hardship without Miriam's parents stepping in to support them, 109 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:35,400 Speaker 1: which Raffi resented. Raffi and Miriam were so broke that 110 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: he had to pawn Miriam's engagement bracelet. Soon they began 111 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: living completely separate lives. Sometimes Miriam would come home from 112 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 1: work and find their apartment full of people drinking, doing drugs, 113 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 1: and gambling, things that she recalls she quote couldn't or 114 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:59,120 Speaker 1: didn't want to know about. She felt she never fit 115 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:03,680 Speaker 1: in with Raffie's friends other rich kidd layabouts when she 116 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:08,920 Speaker 1: never drank a drop of alcohol in her life. Miriam wrote, quote, 117 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:12,800 Speaker 1: little by little, I realized that my relationship with Raffi 118 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:17,600 Speaker 1: was hopeless. At first we had daily arguments, but later 119 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: he decided to disappear and dedicate himself to his travels. 120 00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:28,760 Speaker 1: After just six months of marriage, Miriam and Raffie were separated. Miriam, 121 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:33,320 Speaker 1: regretting her union with Raffi, made amends with her parents, who, 122 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:36,880 Speaker 1: to their credit, never said I told you so. The 123 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:41,080 Speaker 1: marquess and his deeply religious wife, a member of the 124 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:46,120 Speaker 1: Roman Catholic Opus Day Organization, agreed to try and help 125 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:51,560 Speaker 1: Miriam escape her marriage by seeking a church annulment by 126 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:56,040 Speaker 1: Easter nineteen seventy nine, nine months after she had married Raffi. 127 00:09:56,559 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 1: Miriam was in a new relationship with Dick the America, 128 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:03,880 Speaker 1: a coworker at the company she worked at. By the 129 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:07,280 Speaker 1: time of the murders, Miriam and Raffi had been separated 130 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: for over two years. Initially, neither the police nor Miriam 131 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:17,320 Speaker 1: considered Rafi as suspect because he had no financial motive. 132 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,200 Speaker 1: He didn't stand to inherit anything if the marquesses died 133 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 1: because they had signed a separation of property agreement before 134 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:30,200 Speaker 1: the marriage. But after finding the pistol at the San 135 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:38,080 Speaker 1: Juan reservoir, another motive emerged revenge. Unlike Miriam, Raffi resented 136 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:41,960 Speaker 1: his in laws for their stinginess and blamed them for 137 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:47,040 Speaker 1: their financial struggles. They had fought constantly, and Raffi made 138 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:50,160 Speaker 1: no secret of his hatred of his father in law. 139 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:55,360 Speaker 1: It's true that Raffi's general incompetence seems not to fit 140 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:59,200 Speaker 1: the precision of the crime, with not even a shard 141 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:02,720 Speaker 1: of glass left at the crime scene, but he was 142 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:09,000 Speaker 1: also a loose cannon, unpredictable and reckless. Miriam began to 143 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:13,160 Speaker 1: wonder if Raffi's venomous words for her father could have 144 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:17,920 Speaker 1: turned into actual violence. In the weeks after the murder, 145 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:23,120 Speaker 1: she remembered a frightening anecdote from her past. After a 146 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:27,719 Speaker 1: particularly bad fight with the marquess, Raffi had told her, 147 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,320 Speaker 1: I have a plan prepared and I am going to 148 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:40,079 Speaker 1: kill your family. A few days after finding the gun 149 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:43,320 Speaker 1: in the San Juan reservoir in April nineteen eighty one, 150 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 1: inspectors went to Raffi's family home with a search warrant. 151 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:52,439 Speaker 1: At the shooting range, they collected samples of bullet casings 152 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:56,320 Speaker 1: which they compared with the ones from the crime scene. 153 00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:59,720 Speaker 1: They confirmed that they were the same, and so they 154 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:04,200 Speaker 1: had to the Escobedo family ranch in Quinca, where Raffi 155 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:08,640 Speaker 1: had retired with the intention of setting up a pig farm. 156 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:13,199 Speaker 1: From there, Raffi was taken to the General Directorate of Security, 157 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:16,560 Speaker 1: which at that time was located in Puerta del Sol 158 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:21,960 Speaker 1: in Madrid. Raffi suffered through hours of interrogation and humiliation, 159 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: and at the end of the night he confessed he 160 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:30,079 Speaker 1: had killed the Marquesses of Urquillo, and he also said 161 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:33,800 Speaker 1: he had not done it alone. He wrote by hand 162 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:37,800 Speaker 1: in a statement, I am guilty of the death of 163 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:42,600 Speaker 1: my in laws, the Marquesses of Urquillo, he gave key details. 164 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:45,800 Speaker 1: He said that he used tape to break the glass 165 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:48,000 Speaker 1: door that led to the pool of the village or 166 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:52,440 Speaker 1: wooden chatter. He refused to say who else had been 167 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:57,679 Speaker 1: with him that night. The next day, he immediately recanted, 168 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:02,520 Speaker 1: saying that he confessed under duress. Although he did admit 169 00:13:02,679 --> 00:13:06,800 Speaker 1: to having been in the Samasaguas mansion that night, he 170 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:09,440 Speaker 1: said that he was not the one who pulled the 171 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:15,240 Speaker 1: trigger and actually killed his in laws. After Raffi insisted 172 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:19,920 Speaker 1: on his innocence, the case suffered even more setbacks. The 173 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:23,040 Speaker 1: four twenty two caliber shells that had been found in 174 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:26,400 Speaker 1: the marquess's room and the two hundred and sixty five 175 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:30,760 Speaker 1: that had been collected at the Raffi's family estate disappeared 176 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:34,520 Speaker 1: from court, as did the murder weapon recovered in the 177 00:13:34,559 --> 00:13:40,680 Speaker 1: reservoir and Raffi's handwritten confession. When the trial finally began, 178 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:46,040 Speaker 1: it was a media event. Journalists crowded in the front row, 179 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 1: and the courtroom was so packed that people could barely 180 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:54,480 Speaker 1: get in and out. Hossein Maria Stampabroun, Raffi's defense attorney, 181 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:59,800 Speaker 1: emphasized that having lost all of the evidence, the prosecution 182 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:03,840 Speaker 1: did not have enough proof to convict Raffi. The lack 183 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:08,360 Speaker 1: of evidence made both sides cases much more difficult. The 184 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:12,320 Speaker 1: defense expert claimed that the shells from the crime scene 185 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 1: didn't match the ones from Raffi's house, while the police 186 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 1: maintained the opposite. Still, the defense attorney Stampa Braun put 187 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:26,640 Speaker 1: up a formidable defense. When the prosecution brought out an 188 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:30,560 Speaker 1: expert witness testifying to these similarities between the two sets 189 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:34,440 Speaker 1: of casings, Braun dictated to the Secretary of the court 190 00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:38,680 Speaker 1: a report in which he qualified and questioned that evidence. 191 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:43,520 Speaker 1: The prosecutor interrupted him, saying that he was behaving inappropriately. 192 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:48,280 Speaker 1: Braun responded, quote, if the detailed report of a lawyer 193 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,680 Speaker 1: made in defense of someone who is risking sixty years 194 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:56,320 Speaker 1: in prison is considered inappropriate, then I from this moment 195 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:59,400 Speaker 1: resigned from the defense and ceased to be a lawyer 196 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:04,160 Speaker 1: because I am not interested in collaborating with justice. The 197 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:08,560 Speaker 1: audience in the courtroom burst into applause, and the presiding 198 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:13,160 Speaker 1: judge had to order the courtroom to be cleared. For 199 00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 1: their part, the psychiatrists who examined Raffi and testified at 200 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:22,480 Speaker 1: the trial established that he was quote incapable of killing 201 00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:27,800 Speaker 1: a fly. They concluded that he lacked the quote capacity, 202 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:32,840 Speaker 1: intellect and will to kill with such certainty and coldness. 203 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:37,880 Speaker 1: Ismael Fuente and Camilla vele Quantos, who covered the trial 204 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:43,280 Speaker 1: for L Payes, wrote on June twenty fourth, nineteen eighty three, quote, 205 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:47,800 Speaker 1: with the exception of Escobedo's confession of guilt, which he 206 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:51,880 Speaker 1: later retracted, and which is the central issue of the trial, 207 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:55,720 Speaker 1: from the point of view of the criminal procedure law, 208 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:59,800 Speaker 1: none of the alleged evidence could be proven to the 209 00:15:59,920 --> 00:16:04,640 Speaker 1: end accused, but it seemed like the judge ban Venito 210 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:09,240 Speaker 1: Guevara had already decided Raffi was guilty from the beginning 211 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 1: of the trial. According to a journalist who covered the case, 212 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,480 Speaker 1: one of the sessions of the trial began with the 213 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:22,520 Speaker 1: judge saying to Raffi guilty, one get up. On July seventh, 214 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:27,120 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty three, Guevara's sentence was released to the public 215 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:30,160 Speaker 1: in a decision that only took up a page and 216 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:35,960 Speaker 1: a half. Raffi Escobedo alday was sentenced to twenty six years, 217 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:39,840 Speaker 1: eight months and one day of imprisonment for each of 218 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:44,000 Speaker 1: the crimes. For committing two crimes of murder with the 219 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:51,040 Speaker 1: aggravating circumstances of premeditation and nocturnality. Upon hearing the sentence, 220 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:54,800 Speaker 1: Raffi said, I didn't think I was going to be convicted. 221 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:59,640 Speaker 1: What can you do in spite of the shaky evidence. 222 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 1: With the trial over and a verdict reached, it would 223 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:08,240 Speaker 1: seem that the Archio case was closed, But in his sentence, 224 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:12,359 Speaker 1: the judge included a phrase that would fuel decades of 225 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:18,040 Speaker 1: further investigation by the police and press alike. He stated 226 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:23,720 Speaker 1: that Escobato murdered his former in laws, either alone or 227 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:28,359 Speaker 1: in the company of others lo and Behold No more 228 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:31,639 Speaker 1: than Two days after the verdict had been reached, a 229 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:36,639 Speaker 1: bombshell article dropped in Spanish magazine Interview that promised to 230 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:44,879 Speaker 1: reveal who those others might have been. On July ninth, 231 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:50,480 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty three, Interview magazine introduced a new suspect into 232 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:56,960 Speaker 1: the Arquio case, Mauricio Lopez Roberts, fifth Marquis of Torre Amosa. 233 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:01,920 Speaker 1: Lopez Roberts was a close friend of Raffi's and ran 234 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:07,480 Speaker 1: in the same circle of Madrid socialites. The magazine alleged 235 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:12,119 Speaker 1: that being a good shot and an inveterate hunter. He 236 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:15,919 Speaker 1: had ordered a silencer for a gun from a workshop 237 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:20,240 Speaker 1: days before the crime. The silencer, which they alleged, was 238 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:25,320 Speaker 1: then used on the gun that killed the Marquesses. Mauricio 239 00:18:25,359 --> 00:18:29,840 Speaker 1: Lopez Roberts was taken into police custody, where he clarified 240 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:33,320 Speaker 1: that the silencer he had ordered was for a rifle, 241 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:39,360 Speaker 1: not a pistol, disproving the allegations from the magazine. Still, 242 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:44,160 Speaker 1: he admitted that he was connected to the case. Lopez 243 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 1: Roberts told the inspectors that on July thirty first, nineteen eighty, 244 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:53,280 Speaker 1: after having dinner at Ls Bejo and a few drinks, 245 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:59,399 Speaker 1: Raffi arrived with his friend Javier and Aastasio. Anastasio was 246 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:03,920 Speaker 1: another boy from a well off family, a flirt and 247 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:08,120 Speaker 1: a party animal who spent his nights out at famous 248 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:12,479 Speaker 1: Madrid clubs. Anastasio and Raffi had been friends since they 249 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:16,240 Speaker 1: were six. Anastasio did not belong to a family of 250 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:19,920 Speaker 1: ancient lineage, nor did he have a noble last name, 251 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:23,280 Speaker 1: but his father owned a gas station in the center 252 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:28,119 Speaker 1: of Madrid, with which he amassed a considerable fortune, which 253 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:33,560 Speaker 1: made him a rich kid. According to Lopez Roberts, after dinner, 254 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:38,240 Speaker 1: Anastasio did not accompany Raffi to the chalet to kill 255 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:44,160 Speaker 1: the marquesses. That said, on August third, nineteen eighty, Raffi 256 00:19:44,359 --> 00:19:48,720 Speaker 1: met Anastasio in Madrid's Placa del Conde del Villa Asuchil, 257 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:52,760 Speaker 1: where he gave him the bag he had taken two 258 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:58,320 Speaker 1: somasaguas on the night of the crime. It contained guns, gloves, 259 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:01,639 Speaker 1: a blow torch, and the hammer that had been used 260 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:06,760 Speaker 1: to gain access to the inside of the house. Apparently, 261 00:20:07,119 --> 00:20:11,639 Speaker 1: Raffi asked Anastasio not to look at what was inside 262 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:14,280 Speaker 1: the bag and just to get rid of it, and 263 00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:17,120 Speaker 1: Anastasio was the one who threw it into the San 264 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:22,159 Speaker 1: Juan reservoir the next day. Lopez Roberts warned Anastasio of 265 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:25,720 Speaker 1: the danger if he were arrested, and recommended that he 266 00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:29,600 Speaker 1: flee to England and from there to South Africa, a 267 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:34,879 Speaker 1: country with which there was no extradition treaty. Since Anastasio 268 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:38,960 Speaker 1: had no money on hand to escape, Lopez Roberts lent 269 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:44,359 Speaker 1: him twenty five pesetas. The police confirmed this information and 270 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:49,120 Speaker 1: also confirmed Lopez Roberts' alibi for the night of the murders. 271 00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:53,760 Speaker 1: It might seem strange that Lopez Roberts would confess to 272 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:58,440 Speaker 1: helping an accessory to the crime escape, but he declared 273 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:02,879 Speaker 1: that Raffi's sentence was indefensible and that he just wanted 274 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:06,760 Speaker 1: to help the police find the true culprit. I say 275 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:09,439 Speaker 1: this now because I want justice to be done, he 276 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:13,440 Speaker 1: told the police, while assuring that his friend was innocent 277 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:19,200 Speaker 1: and was paying the price for others. After Lopez Robert's revelation, 278 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:24,040 Speaker 1: both he and Anastasio, who hadn't actually fled, were arrested 279 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:27,480 Speaker 1: and both spent three and a half years in provisional 280 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:32,000 Speaker 1: prison awaiting trial. They were released on March twenty first, 281 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:38,959 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty seven. Nine months later, a lawyer went to 282 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:43,679 Speaker 1: Anastasio's house to notify him that the Madrid Provincial Court 283 00:21:44,119 --> 00:21:47,240 Speaker 1: had set the date for the oral hearings for both 284 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:53,080 Speaker 1: his and Lopez Roberts's trial, but Anastasio was nowhere to 285 00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:57,560 Speaker 1: be found. It turned out he had escaped. He took 286 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:00,439 Speaker 1: a bag with some clothes and the money from an 287 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,680 Speaker 1: apartment he had sold, and drove across the border into 288 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:07,639 Speaker 1: Portugal with one of his eight brothers. From there, he 289 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:10,600 Speaker 1: took a direct flight to Brazil, a country with no 290 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:16,080 Speaker 1: extradition treaty with Spain. Meanwhile, Rafi Escobedo was in prison. 291 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:19,840 Speaker 1: He had been transferred to al Duezo prison in cell 292 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:24,359 Speaker 1: number four on the second floor. He decorated it with 293 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:28,679 Speaker 1: photos of Miriam and paper airplanes in every corner of 294 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:32,800 Speaker 1: the room. Raffi also kept in his cell a collection 295 00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:39,000 Speaker 1: of letters stored in cardboard boxes and a canary. While 296 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:42,440 Speaker 1: in prison, Ralfi agreed to an interview with the journalist 297 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:46,760 Speaker 1: Jesus Quintero, who had the nickname the Madman on the Hill. 298 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:51,680 Speaker 1: Raffi spoke of his depression in prison and his alleged 299 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:55,760 Speaker 1: unfair treatment by the justice system. There has been no 300 00:22:55,880 --> 00:23:00,680 Speaker 1: investigation and there will be no investigation because nobody interested 301 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:04,399 Speaker 1: in investigating it, he said to Quintero, I am nothing 302 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:09,879 Speaker 1: any more. On July twenty seventh, nineteen eighty eight, fourteen 303 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:14,680 Speaker 1: days after that interview, Raffi Escobedo was found hanged at 304 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:17,720 Speaker 1: the age of thirty three in his cell. He had 305 00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:22,479 Speaker 1: hanged himself using a sheet. Later that year, Lopez Roberts 306 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:25,680 Speaker 1: was taken to court where the judge, who happened to 307 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:29,040 Speaker 1: be the son of the judge who had originally tried Raffi, 308 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:33,719 Speaker 1: presided over the case, Lopez Roberts was accused by the 309 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:38,080 Speaker 1: prosecutor of covering up the perpetrators of the murders and 310 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:42,439 Speaker 1: of having had news of the event both from Raffi 311 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:47,679 Speaker 1: and from Anastasio. The case was much less of a 312 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:50,360 Speaker 1: media event than it had been in the early eighties. 313 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:55,080 Speaker 1: The courtroom was not even half full. In court, Lopez 314 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:58,720 Speaker 1: Roberts tried to downplay his knowledge of the crime, saying, 315 00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:03,320 Speaker 1: Raffi told many things, some were true and others were not. 316 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:07,679 Speaker 1: I did not believe absolutely everything he told me because 317 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:11,720 Speaker 1: he had changed his version about two hundred times. But 318 00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:16,280 Speaker 1: Lopez Roberts admitted to having met with Anastasio the day 319 00:24:16,359 --> 00:24:21,040 Speaker 1: after Rafi's arrest at a cafe in Madrid. Quote, I 320 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:24,240 Speaker 1: found him very worried about the arrest, and I advised 321 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:27,320 Speaker 1: him to go to London, where his girlfriend was, so 322 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:30,119 Speaker 1: that she could console him. He told me that he 323 00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:33,440 Speaker 1: had no money, and I lent him twenty five pisetas 324 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:37,440 Speaker 1: if I knew that Anastasio was actually involved in the affair, 325 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:40,080 Speaker 1: I wouldn't have lent him that money so he could 326 00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:45,520 Speaker 1: go anywhere. Lopez Roberts maintained almost to the end that 327 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:50,320 Speaker 1: in his conversation with Anastasio, the latter made no reference 328 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:53,240 Speaker 1: to having gotten rid of a bag containing the gun 329 00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:57,000 Speaker 1: used in the murders, the hammer, the blowtorch, and abutane 330 00:24:57,119 --> 00:25:01,720 Speaker 1: cylinder used to break into the quio. He knew from 331 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:04,879 Speaker 1: Rafi that Anastasio had taken care to get rid of 332 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:08,480 Speaker 1: these objects, but at the cafe they didn't mention it 333 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:13,600 Speaker 1: quote as Lopez Roberts says, although I imagine he was worried 334 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:19,080 Speaker 1: about it. On February twenty sixth, nineteen ninety, Lopez Roberts 335 00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:21,840 Speaker 1: was sentenced to ten years in prison for being an 336 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:26,960 Speaker 1: accessory to the crime, lending Anastasio money to escape the country. 337 00:25:28,119 --> 00:25:33,280 Speaker 1: While Lopez Roberts served his prison sentence, Anastasio was still missing. 338 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:38,719 Speaker 1: It wasn't until twenty fifteen that Vanity Fair finally found 339 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:43,280 Speaker 1: Javier Anastasio in Buenos Aires. The charges against him have 340 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:47,600 Speaker 1: been dropped, and he insisted on his innocence, alleging that 341 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:51,760 Speaker 1: Juan de la Sierra, the marquess's son, was actually the 342 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:55,680 Speaker 1: one behind the murder. He poked holes in Juan's alibi 343 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:58,439 Speaker 1: that he was in London at the time, saying that 344 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:01,240 Speaker 1: none of the journalists who had waiting for Juan at 345 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:04,120 Speaker 1: the airport to see him arrive back to Madrid, had 346 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:08,399 Speaker 1: actually seen him, and that Juan denied a judge's request 347 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:13,080 Speaker 1: to show his plane ticket and passport. Most damningly, he 348 00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:16,520 Speaker 1: said that the Knight Raffi, told Anastasio to take him 349 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:20,200 Speaker 1: to the Marquess's house. Raffi had said it was because 350 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:26,760 Speaker 1: he had an appointment with Wan. It's still unclear what 351 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:30,920 Speaker 1: exactly happened on the night of July thirty first, nineteen 352 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:35,280 Speaker 1: eighty and who killed the marquesses. Even if you believe 353 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:39,439 Speaker 1: that Raffi did pull the trigger, Javier Anastasio buried the 354 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:45,040 Speaker 1: evidence and Mauricio Lopez Roberts helped Anastasio escape. It remains 355 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:49,080 Speaker 1: murky what Raffi would have had to gain from such 356 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:52,679 Speaker 1: a gruesome murder and why his friends were so willing 357 00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:57,160 Speaker 1: to help him with such a high profile crime. It's 358 00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:00,280 Speaker 1: even less clear if there were even more people were 359 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:05,000 Speaker 1: involved in the crime. It was the case's ambiguity that 360 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:09,560 Speaker 1: so captivated the Spanish media. Their Quio murders were the 361 00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:14,880 Speaker 1: first parallel trial in democratic Spain, creating a media circus 362 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:19,720 Speaker 1: and a slew of conspiracies in its wake. Every aspect 363 00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:23,760 Speaker 1: of the case was up for debate, even the smallest detail, 364 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:28,080 Speaker 1: like why the marquess's poodle didn't bark when an intruder 365 00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:31,800 Speaker 1: arrived that night, or why the bodies of the marquesses 366 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:37,240 Speaker 1: were washed before the police arrived, making a forensic autopsy impossible. 367 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:41,720 Speaker 1: We still don't have answers for those questions, and police 368 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:46,200 Speaker 1: mismanagement only made things worse, given that the most crucial 369 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:50,280 Speaker 1: evidence in this case, the murder weapon, the bullet casings 370 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:53,240 Speaker 1: found at the scene of the crime, and Raffi's handwritten 371 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:58,399 Speaker 1: confession all went missing. This allowed the media to pick 372 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:04,600 Speaker 1: apart and speculate about every detail and let conspiracy theories proliferate. 373 00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:08,800 Speaker 1: As a journalist who covered the case put it quote, 374 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:12,280 Speaker 1: it had all of the ingredients of a good soap opera. 375 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:17,320 Speaker 1: Two dead marquesses, Raffi's morbid gang, well off guys who 376 00:28:17,359 --> 00:28:20,600 Speaker 1: spent their time drinking gin and tonics at the country club. 377 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:24,800 Speaker 1: There was also a divorce, an American lover, a guy 378 00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:29,280 Speaker 1: with no job or prospects, strange moves in the jet set. 379 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:44,080 Speaker 1: This case had everything everything, perhaps except definite answers. That's 380 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:46,280 Speaker 1: the end of the story of the murder of the 381 00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:49,960 Speaker 1: Marquesses of her Quio, but keep listening to hear even 382 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:54,240 Speaker 1: more about some shady behavior that happened in the house 383 00:28:54,360 --> 00:29:05,120 Speaker 1: on the morning of the murders. The day after the murder, 384 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:09,719 Speaker 1: the marquess's financial administrator, a man named Diego Martinez Herrara, 385 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:14,120 Speaker 1: arrived to work wearing black clothes as if he were 386 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:17,800 Speaker 1: already in mourning, even though it was a sweltering August 387 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:21,640 Speaker 1: in Madrid. As soon as he found out what had happened, 388 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:25,400 Speaker 1: he went immediately to the Marquess's office. He took some 389 00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:28,800 Speaker 1: documents from the table and went out to the garden 390 00:29:29,040 --> 00:29:32,920 Speaker 1: to burn them. He asked for help from the butler 391 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:36,360 Speaker 1: to burn the documents, but the butler kept many of 392 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:39,800 Speaker 1: the papers and then handed them over to the police. 393 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:45,200 Speaker 1: This detail continues to confound those investigating the crime what 394 00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:49,400 Speaker 1: documents were burned and why. While we don't have an 395 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:53,760 Speaker 1: answer and the police never considered the administrator nor the 396 00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:58,760 Speaker 1: butler prime suspects, the act was suspicious enough to raise 397 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:03,760 Speaker 1: questions about the involvement in the case. Raffi, for example, 398 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:09,120 Speaker 1: did accuse Diego Martinez Herrera of collaborating with Juan, their 399 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:13,520 Speaker 1: son in murdering the Marquesses for the record, The butler, 400 00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:17,040 Speaker 1: who took every opportunity to talk to the press about 401 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:22,120 Speaker 1: the murder, also blamed Juan and Diego for the horrific crime. 402 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:32,760 Speaker 1: Noble Blood is a production of iHeart Radio and Grimm 403 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:36,480 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Nobel Blood is hosted by 404 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:41,920 Speaker 1: me Danish Forts, with additional writing and researching by Hannah Johnston, 405 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:47,720 Speaker 1: Hannah Zewick, Courtney Sender, Julia Milani, and Armand Cassam. The 406 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:53,000 Speaker 1: show is edited and produced by Noemi Griffin andrima il Kaali, 407 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:58,480 Speaker 1: with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive producers Aaron Mankey, 408 00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:03,520 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 409 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:08,440 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 410 00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:09,400 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.