Missing mum’s dismembered physique present in tip on vacation island as son arrested
Katty Oosterlinck’s dismembered body was found at a landfill in the Canary Islands days after being reported as missing by her family. Her son has been arrested on suspicion of murder
Katty Oosterlinck’s body was found dumped in a landfill
A missing tourist whose dismembered remains were discovered at a landfill in the Canary Islands has been identified as Katty Oosterlinck.
The 56-year-old Belgian expat’s body was located by police on Friday at the Zurita waste disposal site in Puerto del Rosario, Fuerteventura. Her 22-year-old son has since been taken into custody on suspicion of murder.
Oosterlinck had been reported missing on May 4 after relatives and friends said they had been unable to reach her for several days. Local police officers and volunteers launched an extensive search operation across the island in an attempt to find the mother. Just four days later, officers discovered her remains at the Zurita rubbish processing plant.
That same afternoon, the woman’s son was arrested by the Judicial Police division of the Spanish Guardia Civil in Las Palmas, reports the Sun. Investigators detained the unnamed suspect following what local reports described as a day-long investigation.
Police are said to have pieced together the sequence of events linked to the killing. Officers also searched Oosterlinck’s home in Corralejo, along with several other locations believed to be connected to the case, according to local media.
Her body has been transferred to the Institute of Legal Medicine in Las Palmas, where an autopsy will be carried out to establish the exact cause of death.
So far, authorities have not disclosed how Oosterlinck died or provided further details about the alleged crime. The identity of her son has also not been made public while the investigation remains ongoing. More details are expected to emerge once the post-mortem examination has been completed.
Oosterlinck lived in Corralejo, a town on the island of Fuerteventura. According to the Spanish Eye, the shocking case has deeply affected Spain’s expat community.
Many foreign residents had been closely following updates on her disappearance after appeals for information were issued earlier this week.
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