Girona and Madrid, twinned by death (and III): the murderous obsession of Dave Verbist

Belgian citizen Dave Verbist confessed to a drinking friend that he was the one who killed the young Danish woman Anne Strande in her apartment in Madrid and later set her on fire to cover his tracks.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
05 December 2023 Tuesday 10:24
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Girona and Madrid, twinned by death (and III): the murderous obsession of Dave Verbist

Belgian citizen Dave Verbist confessed to a drinking friend that he was the one who killed the young Danish woman Anne Strande in her apartment in Madrid and later set her on fire to cover his tracks. He also pleaded guilty to the murder and subsequent dismemberment of Montse Méndez, a few months earlier in Girona. The surprising statement was immediately brought to the attention of the police, who proceeded to arrest her.

Without self-incrimination, two cases registered in October 2013 and June 2014 would hardly have been resolved, in which neither the Mossos d'Esquadra nor the National Police had any thread to pull.

Once at the courthouse, everyone who treated Dave Verbist agreed in pointing out the coldness of his character. He drew powerful attention to the fact that in both murders he had the faithful cover-up of a close friend: Doramas in Girona and Rafa in Madrid.

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 and bad. 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 Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts, among others.