A Spanish court has sentenced a Pakistani man to 36 years in prison for murdering three elderly siblings over unpaid debts linked to an online romance scam in a town near Madrid.
A jury convicted Dilawar Hussain, 44, in October for killing two sisters and their disabled brother in Morata de Tajuña in December 2023.
In November, a Madrid court handed Hussain 12 years in prison for each murder, citing a “psychological alteration” as a mitigating factor, according to the ruling seen by AFP. Hussain has appealed the sentence.
Hussain surrendered to police and confessed after authorities found the siblings’ partially burned bodies in their home. The victims, all in their 70s, died after being beaten, reportedly with an iron bar.
During the trial, Hussain asked for forgiveness, claiming he had “heard voices” and was not in his right state of mind at the time of the killings.
According to court findings and media reports, the case stemmed from a fake online romance scam.
The sisters believed they were in relationships with two US servicemen and were persuaded to send money after being told one had died.
The other needed funds to access a multi-million-euro inheritance. The scheme left them heavily indebted.
Hussain, who rented a room in their home, lent the sisters around 60,000 euros ($70,000), which they failed to repay.
The court noted that he had previously attacked one sister with a hammer in February 2023, an offence for which he received a suspended sentence.
Hussain now faces a separate trial for allegedly killing a 39-year-old Bulgarian cellmate in a Madrid prison in February 2024 while awaiting trial for the siblings’ murders.
