Katty Oosterlinck, 56, a Belgian expat living in Corralejo on the island of Fuertaventura, was reported missing by friends and family on Monday – four days later police made a grim discovery
The body of an expat who went missing in Fuerteventura has been found dismembered at a landfill site on the Spanish island with her son arrested on suspicion of her murder.
Katty Oosterlinck was reported missing last Monday, May 4, by friends and family who had been unable to get in contact with her for days. A desperate search operation was launched to try and find the 56-year-old Belgian expat, with police and local volunteers scouring the island for any sign of her.
But four days later, on Friday, Katty’s body was found by police at the Zurita waste processing facility in the town of Puerto del Rosario on the island. Spain’s Civil Guard are investigating the circumstances of her death and have now arrested her son on suspicion of murder.
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Katty’s 22-year-old son was arrested by the Spanish Guardia Civil’s Judicial Police in Las Palmas on the same afternoon his mother’s body was found. Police are believed to have reconstructed the events surrounding Katty’s murder.
According to local media, police visited her home in Corralejo along with other locations potentially connected with her death. Katty’s body has been transferred to the Institute of Legal Medicine of Las Palmas where an examination will be carried out to reveal her cause of death.
Sources shared with Spanish media that the Civil Guard asked Fuerteventura Island Council to work with the investigation by giving access to the landfill site where they believe there could be clues. Katty was last seen in Corralejo, on the northeast coast of Fuerteventura, which is around 30 miles from the landfill site where her body was found.
Police have not yet revealed how she died, or the circumstances of the alleged crime. They have also not released the name of the son as the investigation is ongoing.
The crime has sent shockwaves through the community in the area popular with expats. Katty, from Beveren, had lived and worked on the island for several years.
A friend of Katty told Belgian outlet HLN News: “She has lived in Corralejo for a long time; many people know her because she can always be found in the town. I last saw her on the beach on Sunday afternoon. We haven’t heard from her since, not even her daughter.”
Katty’s son is believed to be the prime suspect in her death, with the examination of her remains set to decide whether the case will be classed as murder, manslaughter, or another crime. According to Canarian Weekly, he was in police custody and due to appear before a judge on Saturday.
