Cervera Case (I): dying in the shadow of Valentine's Day

On February 15, 1999, the day after Valentine's Day, the semi-naked body of the 24-year-old Marina Ruíz García, a resident of the Lleida town of Cervera, where the discovery took place, appeared on the train tracks.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
27 February 2024 Tuesday 09:28
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Cervera Case (I): dying in the shadow of Valentine's Day

On February 15, 1999, the day after Valentine's Day, the semi-naked body of the 24-year-old Marina Ruíz García, a resident of the Lleida town of Cervera, where the discovery took place, appeared on the train tracks. Although initially the forensic experts took the case as a suicide, after the autopsy it was clear that the death had a criminal origin. Additionally, the victim appeared to have been raped with an iron bar.

The Mossos, who from the beginning distrusted a crime scene that never seemed like a suicide, developed their hypotheses and made their list of suspects. One of them was the boyfriend of the deceased, Serafín Cervilla Valle, who would end up arrested, accused and convicted of murder and rape.

Today, 25 years after the events and with authorization to go to prison only to sleep, Cervilla and his lawyers proclaim his innocence as if we were still in 1999.

All the rivers of passion flow into the black chronicle: desire, greed, jealousy, anger, hatred, love, greed, ambition... There are no stories only of good guys and bad guys. There are stories full of nuances, half-truths, strengths and weaknesses, innocence and cruelty.

Dossier Negro is a biweekly black chronicle podcast. You can also find its chapters on podcast platforms such as iVoox, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts, among others.