A decomposed body found in the Guadalmina commercial centre in Marbella could have lain there for years before being discovered this week, it has emerged.
The human remains were found on Tuesday morning by workers fitting fibre optic cables, reports El Español.
Police sources told the respected newspaper that it was not immediately clear if the person had suffered a violent death or simply died while taking refuge among the bushes.
The clothes still attached to the skeletal remains suggest they belonged to a man.
Guadalmina is hugely popular among the expat community, with various bars and restaurants regularly filled with Brits, Swedes and other foreign residents.
The workers immediately alerted the emergency services and the Policia Nacional were sent to the scene.
Some reports claim the leading hypothesis is that the deceased was a homeless person.
However this has yet to be confirmed and the investigation is in very early stages.
A judicial team, comprising the duty judge, a court official and forensic specialist, was called to the scene to oversee the formal removal of the body.
The remains were transferred to the Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) in Malaga, where a post-mortem examination will be carried out.
The autopsy is expected to help establish the person’s identity and the cause of death.
No further details about the deceased have yet been confirmed and, given the advanced state of decomposition, investigators are awaiting the results of forensic examinations.
