The unmistakable voice of Roberto Belmont, the most respected true crime investigator in podcasting, immerses us this week in a story that defies the laws of time and death. HERE you can listen to the podcast.
In the most recent episode of “Crimes of the Beyond,” Belmont unearths “The Garden of Silence,” a case where a childhood promise was stronger than a bullet and nearly four decades of oblivion.
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It all began on a Tuesday in March 1999 in San Salvador de Guardiola, Spain.
What was supposed to be a routine remodeling of a cottage turned into a nightmare scenario when a backhoe dug up something that was not rock or root, but human bones.
As Belmont narrates with characteristic depth, the forensic analysis revealed a brutal truth: it was a young woman, six months pregnant, executed with a point-blank shot to the back of the head.
With no identification, no jewelry and no dental records, the victim was dubbed “the woman with no name” and her case was filed, awaiting a miracle that would take 18 more years to arrive.
A blood pact in a boarding school
But this is not just a police chronicle; it is the story of Josefa and Carmen Fraile.
Abandoned by their parents at ages 4 and 6, the sisters made a heartbreaking promise to each other in a cold boarding school: “We will never be separated, and if something happens to one, the other will search for her until she is found.
When Carmen disappeared in Madrid in the 80’s, Josefa tried to convince her with a fake postcard that her sister had simply run away to start from scratch.
“Your sister didn’t say goodbye to you, Josefa knew something bad had happened,” Belmont recounts, highlighting the trajectory of a search that never gave up in the face of bureaucracy.
Science vs. the “legal monster”.
Magic (or divine justice) happened in 2017.
Thanks to Josefa’s tenacity, DNA data was cross-referenced and the garden victim finally got her name back: it was Carmen.
The main suspect, Manuel Macarro, a man linked to Carmen’s clandestine past, denied knowing her until science cornered him: DNA confirmed that he was the father of the fetus Carmen was carrying in her womb when she died.
However, the episode closes with a bitter pill that Belmont masterfully analyzes: prescription.
Due to Spain’s ancient laws, this homicide could go unpunished due to a technicality of dates.
“Human justice may fail for a calendar, but the justice of love has already been fulfilled: Josefa found her sister,” concludes Belmont in this unmissable season finale.
“The Garden of Silence” is now available on all audio platforms, such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify, where you can also find other titles such as Paranormal Observer and Interdimensional Astrology.
