Spain’s expat community has been left shaken after the body of a Belgian mother who vanished earlier this week was found dumped at a landfill site in the Canary Islands – with her own son now under arrest.
Katty Oosterlinck, who had been reported missing on May 4 in Fuerteventura after relatives lost contact with her, was discovered dead on Friday morning at the Zurita waste facility, according to local reports.
The grim discovery came after days of intensive searches by the Guardia Civil, who had increasingly focused their efforts on the environmental complex near Puerto del Rosario.
At the same time, officers from the Guardia Civil’s Judicial Police unit in Las Palmas arrested the victim’s son, who investigators believe is the prime suspect in her death.
The case has sent shockwaves through Fuerteventura’s large international community, where many foreign residents have closely followed the disappearance since appeals were launched earlier this week.
The case was being closely followed by expats across Spain, especially those from Belgium.
Authorities have not yet officially revealed how Katty died or the exact circumstances surrounding her death.
Those details are expected to emerge following an autopsy by forensic specialists from the Institute of Legal Medicine in Las Palmas.
The investigation remains ongoing.
