Baraja: La firma del asesino (2023) s01e03 Episode Script
Solo un asesino?
1
Alfredo Galán Sotillo.
[dramatic music playing]
The man who has been tormenting
150 police officers for over half a year.
[in Spanish] How is the prisoner?
- Is he okay?
- [man] Gonzalo!
Don't cry!
[man] He was from Puertollano,
we'd like to say a few things to his face.
- I grew up with them.
- Yes.
I've never seen
him or his siblings do anything bad.
The entire town is shocked.
[man in Spanish] He used to live here.
But he joined the military
and hasn't been around much since.
[in English] I found out
he turned himself in when I saw him on TV.
I never thought
he'd be the Playing Card Killer.
[reporter 1] He enjoyed
killing his victims.
[reporter 2] Impulsive,
arrogant, narcissistic.
[reporter 3] Alfonso Galán
is the most wanted man in Puertollano.
Alfonso Galán Sotillo.
I saw the picture and that wasn't Alfonso.
That's Alfredo.
Everyone called me
because he was my friend.
I couldn't believe it.
[man] Alfredo began to associate
with other kinds of people
with a far-right-wing ideology.
[funky music playing]
I couldn't believe it.
Even today, I still can't.
[judge] Okay, let's proceed.
Mr. Galán, you are charged
with five counts of murder.
Plus three counts of attempted murder,
three counts of criminal injury,
and one count
of illegal possession of weapons.
Do you plead innocent
or guilty or no contest to these charges?
[funky music playing]
THE PLAYING CARD KILLER
[buzzing]
[Helena] I decided
to become a criminal lawyer
because I thought that everyone
has the right to a defense.
You condemn the crime, but you
can have sympathy for the criminal.
NATIONAL POLICE HEADQUARTERS
When I entered the room
where Alfredo Galán was,
it drew my attention
that he was with police officers
instead of staying in a cell
waiting for his lawyer to arrive,
which is the usual.
He was even offered something
to drink or something to eat.
It was a very relaxed atmosphere.
[phone ringing]
He was telling us
about the crimes, very calmly.
It was like he learned a script
and he was just reciting it.
HE WANTS TO MAKE A STATEMEN
ABOUT THE CRIMES FOR WHICH HE IS CHARGED
HE'LL LIST THE EVENTS
AS HE REMEMBERS THEM:
Alfredo Galán's statements
really caught my attention.
Because if we look
at the first one in Puertollano,
it was a very brief statement.
UNABLE TO RECALL THE EXACT DATE
(OR THE STREET)
And then
NO EXACT LOCATION - NO EXACT DATE
it was like he started
to remember a lot of details.
STATEMENT OF PERSON IN CUSTODY
I'm not saying the police officers
NUMBER 89 - 12:30 A.M.
consciously wanted
to give him additional information,
but maybe unconsciously,
they gave him
more information than they should've
or they were talking and he heard them
so he used it to embellish his statements.
[upbeat news channel music plays]
He incriminated himself
yesterday before a judicial clerk,
although the weapon
he used is still missing.
Virginia Mayoral, has the alleged killer
left the Tetuán police station?
He hasn't left yet.
We're still waiting outside
but any time now,
the alleged Playing Card Killer
will be leaving his cell
at the Tetuán station in Madrid
to be taken back to Puertollano
where police are still
searching for the weapon
he claims to have used in the murders.
Finding the smoking gun
would've been the cherry
on top of the investigation.
If he said the weapon is in a place
and the weapon is in fact there,
we could've been sure
he was the person who committed the crime.
When you find the weapon,
you can confidently say
it was the weapon that fired all the shots
and left all the shells.
But that's only when you find the gun.
Alfredo Galán claimed that he had thrown
the gun in a trash can near his home.
When? About a month ago.
A couple of months ago.
Well, is it one or two?
That's how precise he was.
[church bell rings]
[suspenseful music playing]
We spoke to City Hall.
And they said that the trash
from Puertollano and the neighboring towns
was collected and processed
by a solid waste company
in Castilla-La Mancha
in Almodóvar del Campo.
LANDFILL
We spoke to the waste company
and they said it was a plot of land
which was about a mile away
and 10,000 tons had to be moved.
[TV reporter] More than once,
they thought they were close
because among the trash,
there are many objects that look similar
to the ones the police are looking for.
A gun, a cartridge belt,
and a deck of cards.
But they found a different deck
of cards from the one used by the killer,
hunting shells,
and other misleading objects.
- Something's here.
- [reporter] What did you find?
[worker] Wallets, vibrators.
A bit of everything.
[reporter] In 30 days,
they've moved 1,000 tons of trash
and still no trace of the gun.
[Jesús] I have a friend back home
who was some kind of dowser,
one of those people
who looks for water with a pendulum.
One morning, I took him to Puertollano
and I realized it was no use.
The pendulum did move,
but there was a lot of metal
and that thing didn't stop moving.
I even did that
trying to find that weapon.
We spent weeks there.
We moved tons and tons of trash
with no results.
ORDER TO TERMINATE THE SEARCH
BEING CARRIED OUT AT THE LANDFILL
COURTHOUSE
[broadcaster in Spanish] The Playing Card
Killer is making headlines again today.
He will appear in a police lineup.
The lineup will take place at 1:00 p.m.
The Ecuadorian woman
who survived the attack will be there.
Her Ecuadorian boyfriend
was shot in the face,
allegedly by the so-called
[in English] It was Galán's own defense,
my brilliant colleague,
Helena.
She was the one to request the lineup.
Alfredo Galán's face
was all over the media.
He appeared on TV,
therefore the lineup itself was tainted.
[reporter 1 in Spanish] He's a cold
and arrogant man with no respect
for human life
[reporter 2] He went from being
a facial composite to having a real face.
[reporter 1] He loved guns.
[reporter 2] Alfredo Galán's face
will be identified.
[expert] According
to ancient Chinese philosophy,
his face resembles one
of a feline, hyena, panther.
[in English] What's the point of a lineup
if one of the faces
has been seen by everyone in Spain?
It was completely useless unless
it was to make any of the witnesses
or survivors say
that they didn't recognize him,
show doubts, or rule him out.
[ominous music playing]
The police lineup was unforgettable.
Ana was really nervous.
She was extremely upset.
It was shocking for me
because it was Alfredo Galán,
the person who confessed.
You did a composite sketch,
you saw him. It's him, right?
It is.
And
No.
His lips were too thin,
his hair wasn't as thick.
He didn't have
that dark brown hair she remembered.
That raised doubts in her mind.
But it had to be him because he confessed.
There's proof and evidence linking him.
She repeatedly said she was not sure.
In that moment,
it made those of us
who were listening very uneasy.
She said maybe it was number three.
So they put it
on the record she was not sure.
"Not sure." She had doubts.
SHE HAS DOUBTS ABOUT NUMBER THREE
POLICE LINEUP REPOR
This was more than indicative
ALFREDO GALÁN SOTILLO
after seeing him all over the media.
The picture was online.
It appeared on TV very often.
And still she has doubts.
That was certainly indicative.
[upbeat news channel music plays]
Alfredo Galán, the alleged
Playing Card Killer,
is in Soto del Real
in solitary confinement.
Tomorrow a team of psychologists,
educators, and social workers
will interview Galán.
I've devoted my entire professional career
to psychiatry.
The last report I wrote
was actually Alfredo Galán's report.
COURTHOUSE
They took him to Plaza Castilla
and I interviewed him first.
[ominous music playing]
[shouting]
[camera shutters clicking]
Right away,
he started telling me things
and I was shocked
because usually when someone
commits a crime
they deny it.
Not only did he not deny it,
but during the course of four interviews,
he gave lots of information
about what he did.
THE INCENTIVE WAS
"KILLING FOR THE SAKE OF KILLING"
KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE
TO TAKE SOMEONE'S LIFE
I didn't have time
to write everything down.
He was talking a lot.
HE WANTED TO DO I
EVEN THOUGH HE KNEW IT WAS WRONG
HE DIDN'T FEEL ANYTHING AFTER KILLING
HE NEITHER FELT REGRET THEN NOR NOW
Those weren't symptoms of mental illness.
They were symptoms of a way of being.
ANTISOCIAL
NARCISSISTIC
AGGRESSIVE-SADISTIC
PARANOID THOUGHTS
A CLEAR DISREGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE
ATTITUDE OF A HUMAN PREDATOR
I did the psychiatric report.
And to go with it,
I asked a trusted colleague
to do a psychological report
to confirm and corroborate
the personality traits
that weren't clear in the interviews.
I did two types of test.
First, psychometric test,
the ones that most people
are familiar with.
Asking, "True or false?"
"A lot or a little?"
SOMEONE IS CONTROLLING MY MIND
TRUE - FALSE
I'M AFRAID OF GOING CRAZY
SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH ME
I HEAR VOICES
AND DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY COME FROM
I SEE THINGS, ANIMALS, OR PEOPLE
THAT OTHER PEOPLE DON'T SEE
Then there's a type of test
called a projective test
in which the person has to draw.
I asked him how he saw himself.
I remember he told me
he felt happy, calm, cheerful,
and living with his wife,
happy and millionaires.
When I heard that,
I felt it was kind of contradictory
considering the life
he was actually living.
He told me how many siblings he had,
how his mother died
when his younger brother was born.
When something is missing
during childhood like a mother figure
or when there's
a very authoritarian father,
obviously, there can be consequences.
What's hard, what we can't be sure of,
is the cause-and-effect relationship.
When Alfredo Galán was arrested,
another race against the clock started.
One of many we had.
I started talking with all the lawyers,
the accusers,
the prosecutor, with everyone,
until I finally got my hands
on Alfredo Galán's psychiatric report.
It was devastating.
THE PLAYING CARD KILLER
KILLED "FOR PLEASURE"
"I'D THINK ABOUT KILLING
WHEN I WATCHED TV, AND THAT'S IT"
From the moment Alfredo Galán
turned himself in in Puertollano,
a trial by media a started.
We've received information
from his psychiatric report.
[reporter] Impulsive,
arrogant, narcissistic.
He murdered for the pleasure
of knowing what it felt like.
He said he killed to know
what it felt like, but he felt nothing.
He wanted to show how easy it was to kill.
THE WORDS OF A MURDERER
A HUMAN PREDATOR
THE LOOK OF A MONSTER - CONCEITED
HE KILLED FOR PLEASURE
It's obvious they should've been
more cautious with this issue
about the leaks.
I think they always distort things
but they should protect
the person's privacy.
What we didn't want
was to suggest this person's guilt
before the trial.
Our job is just to inform.
We had that information
and we couldn't remain silent.
EXPERTS SAY, "HE PUNISHES LIFE BY KILLING.
THAT'S HOW HE OVERCAME HIS FRUSTRATIONS"
I don't usually spend
more than an hour in an interview.
I spent five hours with him.
In an interview,
we can only manage to scratch
the surface of a person,
not get deep inside their heads.
I don't think that I've ever done that.
I wouldn't say
I know Alfredo Galán in depth,
but I got to know him enough
to write the report.
[ominous music playing]
I met Alfredo Galán Sotillo
when I joined the military
And just by chance,
we ended up in the same group.
And for whatever reason,
we ended up sharing a bunk.
It was hard
coming from a very small town.
It wasn't easy.
It wasn't for me.
- I was just 18 back then.
- [in Spanish] Hi, grandma.
[Rubén in English] And suddenly,
someone who didn't know me
gave me his friendship just like that.
That's how he was.
From the day I met him until today.
[projector clicking]
I met Alfredo Galán in 1999,
if I'm not wrong.
[man] Suárez.
[Javier] We were in the same unit
and we had to run together.
We had to do urban combat or shooting.
Back then, he was a very shy person
but once you gained his trust
and he felt comfortable with you,
he opened up completely
and got close, personable.
And he was even a very good friend.
[projector clicking]
[Rubén] Our company
was stationed at El Goloso
and they told us
our unit was going on a mission to Bosnia.
TORREJÓN DE ARDOZ AIR BASE
To Bosnia.
We went on a peace mission.
We didn't go
when there was a battle going on.
We went as humanitarian aid.
Maybe we saw things that other teenagers
wouldn't usually see.
But our mission there was to help people.
We developed a level of camaraderie
which is very common in the army.
We were having good times, bad times,
and we were always together.
That creates a very strong bond.
We were like brothers.
Film this. I'm going to marry
the baker. I'll marry her.
When the mission was over,
we would go to the local bars.
At times, when you're drinking
industrial amounts of booze,
it's not uncommon
for things to sometimes get out of hand.
It might be a little hassle
with someone at the bar
but he wasn't particularly aggressive.
Quite the opposite.
He usually acted very shy around people.
Our mission was to make the citizens
hand over their weapons.
Because we understood civilians
couldn't be allowed to be armed.
There was a big black market
before we would go fight.
Local people would come
with stuff in blankets.
Grenades, combat knives, ammunition, guns.
We had all that within our reach.
And we all took something.
I took a combat knife myself, from an AK.
Some took grenades.
He told me he hid a gun in a TV.
Back then, TVs weren't like today.
They were a big square box.
He snuck the gun in there
but I never saw it.
He didn't show me the gun.
I don't think he showed it to anyone.
Going through security
wasn't like it is at a normal airport.
Basically,
we didn't have to empty our bags.
They just glanced at our stuff
because there were so many of us.
And off we went.
[ominous music playing]
BOSNIA - OCTOBER 30, 2002
He returned from Bosnia
to take some time off.
Not only did they
not give him the time off,
he was sent to another hell.
DAILY NEWS
[Matías] These were the last seconds
of the Prestige.
The ship split and sank
at 150 miles from Cape Finisterre
while carrying 70,000 tons of fuel.
Once I left the army,
Alfredo and the rest of my unit
went to clean up the oil in Galicia.
[Juan] That's where he lost control.
From the beginning,
he started behaving aggressively
with commanders, fellow soldiers,
and in the street.
Apparently, Alfredo had an anxiety attack.
He pulled an old lady from a car.
He threw her out of the car
and tried to drive off,
basically stealing it.
They stopped him.
They saw he was very anxious.
They took him and sent him to a hospital
and he was diagnosed
with an anxiety attack.
"GÓMEZ ULLA" CENTRAL MILITARY HOSPITAL
ALFREDO GALÁN SOTILLO
EPISODE OF AGITATION
REQUIRES INPATIENT PSYCHIATRIC TREATMEN
He was someone that had
certain imbalances,
especially with alcohol.
[shouting]
[in Spanish] "Eat healthy."
- Clap your hands.
- Lots of whiskey.
- Look, everyone.
- Drink all night!
Come on!
[projector clicking]
[in English] He was discharged
at his own request shortly after that.
They did an outpatient follow up
MADRID, DECEMBER 20, 2002
and he was treated
for an anxiety disorder.
He requested his discharge from the army
and while being processed,
he kept making
regular visits to the hospital.
At the same time,
he committed at least three murders.
DECEMBER 27 - PSYCHIATRY
JANUARY 13 - PSYCHIATRY
JANUARY 22 - PSYCHIATRY
JANUARY 28 - PSYCHIATRY
FEBRUARY 18, FEBRUARY 27
MARCH 4 - PSYCHIATRY
JANUARY 24 - ALONSO CANO STREET CRIME
FEBRUARY 5 - ALAMEDA DE OSUNA CRIME
BAR ROJAS CRIME
MARCH 7 - TRES CANTOS CRIME
MARCH 18 - ARGANDA DEL REY CRIME
They need to improve
the selection process,
especially when handling guns.
Current filters
are not enough.
- [in Spanish] I have to piss.
- Where it says "pain."
It says "pain," not "Spain."
[in English] I saw him in August
and the results I got showed this person
could lose touch with reality.
He would develop psychosis
or have a breakdown.
He was very paranoid.
He felt observed,
he had trust issues
and thought he was going to be hurt.
When I noticed that, it drew my attention.
I told Carrasco this
and shortly after that,
he changed his statement.
MADRID - SEPTEMBER 10, 2003
[indistinct chatter]
[Beatriz] We were in examining court
number ten in Plaza Castilla.
COURTHOUSE
It was September 10th
and Madrid was suffering a heatwave.
The Playing Card Killer is going to plea.
Expectations were huge. Maybe Helena
knew what was coming but we didn't.
The private prosecution
was next to the witness stand
and the defense, Helena,
was alone confronting all of us.
Like a warrior.
She was facing a big bull.
"Alfredo Galán Sotillo,
you have the right to remain silent,
to not answer the questions asked,
to plead not guilty."
[suspenseful music playing]
"Will you plea?"
"Yes."
Expectations were high.
Alfredo Galán spoke
and he changed his story.
Alfredo Galán turned himself in
at Puertollano last July,
claiming to be the Playing Card Killer.
He gave various details in his statement.
Two months later,
he told the judge it was all a lie,
but he knows those who did it.
He says he didn't do it
but now he claims to know who did,
hinting that they might even be skinheads.
He said
he's not the murderer.
It's true, he brought the gun back
from his tour in Bosnia.
But in fact,
he sold that gun to some other people.
HE SOLD THAT HANDGUN
TO ONE OF THOSE TWO PEOPLE
AND HE KNOWS THEIR NAME
He explained that the two killers
gave him two months to turn himself in.
Otherwise, they'd give the five
and six of cups to his sisters,
which means they would kill them.
Galán says he got depressed
and even considered suicide
but then he decided to turn himself in.
His sister was everything to him.
He has a little sister.
He always talked about her.
They had a strong bond,
they were very close.
I thought the first story was plausible
because I had other elements.
I can't talk about them
out of confidentiality
but they made me
believe this second version.
It's not that I don't believe it.
I'm just saying I can't rule it out.
Because he was drunk when he confessed.
Nobody believed him.
He was very apathetic.
He didn't match the profile
to be the murderer.
[suspenseful music playing]
I was surprised
when I saw on TV that they were looking
for an elite shooter from the army.
His profile didn't match that
of an elite shooter.
When we practiced shooting, he'd tremble.
Literally shaking.
SHOOTING LOGBOOK - ALFREDO GALÁN SOTILLO
NERVOUS
Galán's new version
helped to fill in some gaps,
but it wasn't the whole story.
He said there were more accusations
he was being pressured about
and was forced to turn himself in.
[Helena] When the prosecutor
asked more questions,
he said he wouldn't answer any more.
To no one, not even me.
Why not try
with that line of investigation?
Let's allow him
to give names and identify people.
What if it's true? What's there to lose?
If it's false, the story will break down
and if it's true,
other people might be caught.
The prosecutor said there was no need.
There's no evidence to support it.
It didn't sound that off.
There could be ties
between Alfredo Galán and the far right.
Because maybe in the army,
he got in contact with certain people
who led him into that sort of ideology.
[tense music playing]
At the beginning,
Alfredo hung out with us.
At the end, he started
hanging out with other people
with a far-right-wing ideology.
[in Spanish] Second lieutenant
Mario Caparrós Trillo.
This is our friend Francisco.
- Long live Spain.
- Paquito.
Look at him
and his Spanish flag suspenders.
Hey, film this.
Long live Spain!
Facing the sun in a new shirt ♪
[in English] He confessed out of fear
or because he was threatened.
I lean toward the possibility that
under the influence
of drugs or alcohol or other substances,
he could have
somehow become the perfect scapegoat.
With what we had, we were sure
Alfredo was the only perpetrator
of the crimes.
There's no evidence showing a connection
with far-right-wing people.
The irrefutable truth is
Galán had a cartridge
that was used in the weapon
that struck the shell
found in the doorman. How's that possible?
We knew it was him.
Anyway,
it wasn't credible
neither for the judge, nor for us.
The judge based her decision
on that and so did the police.
The only thing Alfredo Galán asked for
was protection for him
and his family in exchange for talking.
It was denied.
[typewriter keys click]
MADRID - FEBRUARY 7, 2005
MADRID PROVINCIAL CRIMINAL COUR
[in Spanish] See if you can do it. Look.
[in English] When you've covered crimes
for this long,
you see trials that are like a play.
The climax of the investigation
is when it ends.
In the case of the Playing Card Killer,
the trial took a lot of time.
There were five criminal cases
with several murders
and attempted murders,
something never seen in Madrid.
It was so much work.
It was a very interesting trial
and it brought together
the crème de la crème of criminal lawyers.
The staging was very good.
[in Spanish] Who? What do you have to?
She'll testify via video call
because she doesn't want to face Galán.
So that's how we'll do it.
[in English] It was a spectacle.
It was the most important case
Spain had seen in years.
They were deciding the fate
of a vicious serial killer in Madrid.
[in Spanish] Get the shot,
since she's covered
[in English] I just hope justice is served
and for that man
to be in prison for a long, long time.
[siren sounds]
- [in Spanish] Come on. Who is pushing me?
- Hang on.
- Look.
- [woman] We have to wait.
CIVIL GUARD
[suspenseful music playing]
[judge in English] Mr. Galán, take a seat.
You're being charged
with five counts of murder
plus three counts of attempted murder,
three counts of criminal injury,
and one count
of illegal possession of weapons.
Do you plead innocent or guilty
or no contest to these charges?
All right.
The evidence against Alfredo Galán
was his own statement and surrender,
the retrieved bullet shell,
they never found the Tokarev gun,
the testimonies of the survivors,
and then finally,
the police lineup that took place.
[reporter] Two cases are being tried.
The first is Juan Carlos Martín's murder
at the bus stop in Alameda de Osuna
and then, the shooting
at the Rojas bar on the same day
only twelve hours later,
where two people died
and one was badly injured.
And it is that testimony
of Teresa, the protected witness,
that's the most anticipated.
Her testimony is taking place now
and we'll have the details later.
[ominous music playing]
I said I wasn't going to Madrid.
I did it from Bilbao.
SURVIVOR
I didn't want to be there,
let alone to see him.
[judge] Teresa Sánchez García,
is that you?
[Teresa] Yes.
[judge] Okay, let's start then.
María Teresa, do you swear
to tell the whole truth in this courtroom?
Yes.
I took comfort in my family.
I didn't want to know anything.
It was like
How to put it?
It wasn't a circus.
You see, I didn't lose my son.
He was murdered.
It's one thing for a son to die
in an accident or from a disease
but mine was murdered
in front of me.
Right in front of me.
Are you firmly convinced
the person you saw
on February 5th, 2003,
at your bar with your son, shot him,
turned around, shot Juana Uclés,
killing them both,
who then shot and severely injured you
was Alfredo Galán?
Absolutely. It's him.
Defense counsel.
Good morning, Teresa.
You recognized another person
who's not my client
when you saw him from the side.
Is that so?
[Teresa] Yes.
They looked alike
from the side. Same nose.
[ominous music playing]
[Teresa] I was wrong
that day at the police lineup.
I wasn't feeling okay.
So basically, that means
you've never seen my client from the side.
I saw him at the bar
the day he killed my son.
Teresa had described
and recognized another person.
A pre-trial detainee
who was detained for some time
and that she recognized
without hesitation.
So, with all due respect
to her pain and her loss,
her testimony lacks all credibility.
[judge] Let's finish the video call.
Thank you to the officials in Bilbao.
[in Spanish] We're finishing now.
[in English] Two survivors
of the Playing Card Killer
testified in the trial
against Alfredo Galán.
One of them, a man from Ecuador,
successfully recovered
from a shot to the face.
The girl that was with him in the Madrid
area of Tres Cantos was spared
when the murderer's gun jammed.
[ominous music playing]
I was going to represent Ana and Eduardo.
Both came to my office.
At that time, probably as a result
of the shock and PTSD,
he had no clear recollection
of what happened.
[ominous music playing]
Back then, Eduardo was unable to tell me
who shot him.
He couldn't even describe
the face of the shooter.
When a police lineup was requested
for Eduardo to identify Galán,
the prosecutor objected.
In a handwritten note,
we were informed the lineup made no sense
since he had already stated
he didn't see anything.
SANTIAGO EDUARDO SALAS
DID NOT SEE THE ATTACKER AT ANY TIME
BECAUSE HE WAS LOOKING DOWN
In the end,
Eduardo decided to be represented
by my colleague, Marcos García-Montes.
- [in Spanish] Okay.
- Okay. Calm down.
[in English] How are you, Marcos?
I was with Eduardo earlier this morning.
He's nervous, he's taking medication,
but he wants to see his face.
I've been called a star lawyer
but the case is the star, not the lawyer.
Media star? It's not my fault
if a client chooses to hire me.
My motto is you invest a lot of hours
with passion and conviction.
[ominous music playing]
When I got the case,
Eduardo was under treatment here.
He was in the hospital
having his mouth reconstructed.
He had a successful recovery, fortunately.
[judge] Please bring in
Santiago Eduardo Salas Erazo.
[Marcos] If I could,
Your Honor, our client
has requested to testify
confronting the assailant face to face.
He's requested that the screen be removed.
If you could move
the defendant up, please.
Okay. I agree to him being moved up.
Mr. Salas Erazo. Come here, please.
Okay, Mr. Salas.
Do you swear?
Sir, will you please look at the court?
Do you swear to tell
the whole truth in this courtroom?
- The whole truth.
- [judge] Good.
When you entered, you stared
for several seconds at the defendant.
Yes.
- [Marcos] Did he shoot you?
- Yes.
- You saw him perfectly?
- [Eduardo] Perfectly.
The plan with Eduardo
was to reinforce him emotionally.
To boost his ego
so when he testified, he'd be convincing.
I've seen clients
lying through their teeth
but they looked like Ladrón de Guevara
or Margarita Xirgu. Great actors.
And I've seen others tell the truth
in a way that no one believes them.
I wanted to reinforce him emotionally
for his testimony to be convincing.
Whatever your client says,
the acting has to be strong.
- He was leaning.
- [Marcos] Yes.
And I heard footsteps coming.
I go like this then I was like this.
It caught my attention.
This person was walking like this.
He came like this.
[Helena] That's impossible.
[judge] Sir, you have
to be near the microphone.
He walked toward us like I showed you
and I stared at him
for about seven or eight seconds
while he walked toward us
as he was about 50 feet away.
I raised my head
in his direction, saw him again.
He was around six feet tall
with a hooked nose, dark eyebrows.
Then I felt
a rumbling in my head.
It was like
an explosion inside of my head.
The victim's statement
was enough to get a conviction
and that statement
contributed throughout this process
because unfortunately,
the others didn't see his face.
Defense counsel, please.
[Helena] Yes, Your Honor.
On March 14th, you were ready to testify
and that day,
you said you didn't see the perpetrator
because your head was toward the floor.
This was read to you or you read it.
You don't have sight problems.
[Marcos] We'll strictly address
this interrogation later.
There's been an intellectual intervention
of this statement by the defense.
It's a terrible perversion
because before that last phrase,
our client said he allegedly looked
to his right
and according to him, he saw someone
walking toward the end of the tunnel.
He described the subject,
six feet tall, black hair,
and then he says it was after that
when he put his head toward the ground.
- [Helena] Excuse me.
- That's the truth, counsel.
- [Helena] It doesn't say that.
- Let's see. One moment please.
She was playing mind games
and trying to confuse my client.
It's one thing to ask,
it's another to harass.
Are you sure the tunnel
was lit enough to see?
I'm completely sure.
[Helena] Why do you think
the Civil Guard says otherwise?
I thought it was well, perfectly lit.
- [Helena] Better than this room?
- Yes.
Then why are you afraid of the dark?
Why am I afraid of the dark?
I've had that fear ever since I was shot.
[Helena] But the tunnel was well lit.
[Eduardo] But I'm afraid of the dark.
Sure. No further questions. Thank you.
Any questions from counsel?
My personal opinion is that the witnesses
were all very affected during this trial.
Of course, I won't say
that they were lying. Not at all, I won't.
But for me, back then
at the time of the trial,
they turned out to be very unreliable.
Put Mr. Galán a bit further down.
[ominous music playing]
No. Just a little bit further.
That's it. Yes.
Let's bring in protected witness A.
[Beatriz] Ana was in Ecuador.
She had no money to travel
and they didn't help her.
And she was the star witness
of the prosecution.
She was never seen as a victim.
She was annoying.
She was annoying because she spoke
to the media in the first place.
"CONVINCED HE WOULD KILL ME"
And because she wasn't precise,
she didn't make
an accurate identification.
It was annoying to bring her here
and to take her home.
Sit down, Miss.
Over there by the microphone, please.
Do you swear to tell
the whole truth in this courtroom?
- I swear.
- [judge] Good.
You remember that night
at the police station?
Several people were put in front
of you for you to see if any of them
was the person who approached and shot.
- Yes.
- [lawyer] You pointed out someone.
Exactly.
[lawyer] And you said you had doubts.
[Anahid] Exactly.
Can you explain to us
what doubts did you have?
[Anahid] Yes.
I wasn't sure about his face.
I paid more attention
to his physical build
and his eyes
because we stared at each other.
I'll never forget that look.
[Helena] So you're relaxed
and don't fear for your life?
Well I'm calm, yes.
Maybe it's something that got into my head
but there might be
other people behind this too.
Ana was sure Galán was guilty
because Galán was guilty,
no doubt about it.
Ana's doubts were and this
will haunt me for the rest of my life
if Galán acted alone
or if there was someone else.
[reporter] Is Galán the killer
or could someone else be involved?
I've always thought
that Galán was involved
but there were more people.
My father was Francisco Ledesma.
He was the doorman of Alonso Cano.
FRANCISCO LEDESMA'S DAUGHTER
He was the first victim
of the Playing Card Killer.
[projector clicking]
[ominous music playing]
When he turned himself in,
I didn't sigh in relief
and think it was over.
No. No.
I've always had the feeling
that it couldn't be one person.
I think there were more.
I've thought that from the start.
I still think so.
[ominous music playing]
Alfredo Galán's statement
about the crime at Alonso Cano,
to be fair, didn't make much sense.
He described him wearing overalls
and my dad was wearing a jacket.
[projector clicking]
He had glasses on.
The glass was missing
from where he was shot.
Alfredo Galán didn't say
my father was wearing glasses or a jacket.
He said everything went smoothly.
He came in,
grabbed my dad, put him on his knees.
My dad begged him not to kill him.
"FACING THE WALL"
I don't see him being so submissive
to another person in spite of the gun.
My dad's knuckles were bruised.
Also, one of his eyes was black.
Those are defensive wounds.
I mean, that doesn't seem very submissive.
[ominous music playing]
I entered the courtroom
with high expectations
but it seemed completely scripted.
There wasn't anything useful
coming out of it.
In all of the hearings,
I always tried to sit behind Alfredo Galán
just to see if he reacted,
especially to the witnesses' statements
about the victims.
To see if he reacted
in any way, any movement,
but actually he didn't flinch.
His attitude was certainly one
of absolute detachment.
Not only was he not speaking,
he wasn't in the room.
His gaze was fixed on the ground,
very discouraged and gloomy.
Like a defeated man.
No anger, no rage, just indifference.
He accepted his fate.
He came out with his face covered.
FRANCISCO LEDESMA'S WIDOW
He wore a big cap
and was always bent over.
He didn't show his face.
He was a disturbing, strange individual.
He didn't act
like a murderer looking for fame,
acting histrionic,
enjoying the cameras,
who wanted to be heard.
He wasn't Ted Bundy.
[Ángel] Everyone was worried.
They were all
looking for that ruthless killer
because the press has a tendency
to create images of murderers.
We mythologize them
as if they were very intelligent,
always well dressed.
They're nothing like that.
It's really quite the opposite.
They're people with a vulgar background
and not very smart.
[ominous music playing]
[broadcaster in Spanish] Many people
will be late to work in Madrid today.
There's no doubt about it.
Kids won't make it to school
and sick people will postpone
their doctor's appointments.
These are images of Madrid this morning.
[in English] My God, how it snowed
on the last day of the trial.
Flakes the size of chips.
It was like Switzerland.
It should have been a normal day in Madrid
but not on the last day
of the Playing Card Killer's case.
[man in Spanish] You can all take a seat.
Take a seat, please.
Public hearing.
Expectations are high here
on the last day of Alfredo Galán's trial.
Expectations are so high
that many journalists couldn't get inside.
There wasn't room for everyone.
High expectations are caused by the fact
that this is the last opportunity
we'll have to hear from Alfredo Galán.
He will be given the opportunity
to speak when the trial is over.
We don't know if he will do it or not
[unsettling music playing]
[Helena in English] I can't talk about it
due to professional confidentiality,
but I can say that in the end,
what I had agreed to
with my client didn't happen.
[judge] Alfredo Galán, stand up, please.
Would you like to make a statement?
Court is adjourned, you may leave.
Mr. Galán, please follow the officers.
Would you remain seated and quiet, please?
[Beatriz] Silence can be read.
You can stay silent
but if any innocent citizen
is shown evidence against him
and he decides
not to give any explanation,
it's because there is no explanation.
Sometimes, when you're scared,
you prefer not to say anything.
The question is, "What would've happened
if he hadn't turned himself in?"
My opinion? They wouldn't have caught him.
Even if he hadn't turned himself in,
when we received the list
of the soldiers in treatment
or in past treatments
that had been
on humanitarian missions around Kosovo,
we would've caught him.
LAST NAMES AND NAME
[interviewer] Alfredo Galán
is not on the lists.
He's not?
Well, that's odd.
I don't know why.
I guess it must be a mistake.
I don't remember what we got wrong
but indeed, he wasn't on the list.
But he was on another list.
On March 31st,
we issued a notice
asking our colleagues in the police
to give us around 20 names daily.
Alfredo Galán was there
on the third day, among those names.
By the way, the photo
wouldn't have been very helpful
because it was taken
when he was 18 or 19 years old.
He looks very young. But I mean,
he was there, we had it on the tables.
The Civil Guard showed me these lists
for informational purposes
and Alfredo Galán was on there
with a handwritten note next to his name.
I told the person that showed me the note
that he could've written it afterwards,
once we arrested him.
I said, "I'm gonna believe you."
But it doesn't make sense
because the lists were huge.
They had nothing on him.
He had to make a mistake.
A recording from a bank camera
or a traffic camera. Something.
The investigators say
this case was a success
and that's shocking
because he turned himself in.
If he hadn't done that,
maybe they would've never found him.
Actually, they were far from getting him.
[typewriter clicking]
MADRID - MARCH 4, 2005
The Playing Card Killer was sentenced
to 142 years in prison for his crimes
and for those he had planned.
The court pointed out
that his disregard for life
should make it harder for him
to obtain prison privileges or parole.
The victim's lawyers believe
the state should pay compensation
given that he was in the military
when he committed his crimes
and that he also used a gun he bought
in Bosnia, while he was stationed there.
I lost my son
my home,
I lost my job,
everything.
My whole life in seven seconds.
And nobody has bothered calling me
to see how I'm doing.
The actions of the state
are absolutely outrageous.
I'm outraged.
The state washed its hands.
Wasn't it guilty
of Alfredo Galán bringing a Tokarev
from the army inside a TV?
Isn't that poor oversight?
If you had done your job,
maybe he wouldn't have gotten a Tokarev,
he wouldn't have hidden it inside a TV,
and he wouldn't have brought it to Spain.
We all thought it was very unfair.
We appealed to the Supreme Court
but the victims didn't receive anything.
I know money doesn't make up
for someone's passing.
It won't bring them back.
It will not cure
any physical after effects
but it's sad they didn't receive anything.
[upbeat playful music playing]
HERRERA DE LA MANCHA PENITENTIARY
We received this letter
while we were in the middle
of investigating Eva Blanco's murder.
The return address
was Rubén Galán Sotillo,
Herrera de la Mancha Prison.
I asked my colleagues if they realized
this was the Playing Card Killer.
He changed his name.
I think it was Palacios who called me
to tell me what he had gotten from
my dear friend.
[projector clicking]
And he said he wanted to give us a hand
to solve Eva Blanco's case.
I was in awe when I read it.
Seven stab wounds, most in the back,
and apparently one killer.
That's how Eva Blanco, age 16, died.
He wrote it on August 30th, 2015
and he said
that after seeing the case of the rape
and murder of Eva Blanco on TV,
he wanted to share a theory,
if it was of any use.
THE MURDERER MAY BE DEALING WITH
PRESSURES HE CAN'T CONTROL
INTROVERTED, IMMATURE,
AND WORKING IN AN UNFULFILLING JOB
YOU SHOULD USE THE MEDIA TO PRESSURE HIM
WAIT FOR HIM TO MAKE A MISTAKE
The letter is priceless.
We wondered what he was doing in prison.
It was like he was
in his first year of criminology school.
[siren sounds]
I have written many letters
to Alfredo Galán
because I'd like to talk to him.
I've asked him whether
Well, if it was him.
I wanted to know the truth.
I told him that's all I want.
As I was saying,
I think my father didn't get any justice.
I never received a reply.
[Beatriz] The victim's treated
like an object in the crime scene.
Alfredo Galán will always be
the Playing Card Killer
but the victims
become blurry and forgotten over time.
[unsettling music playing]
The worst of all
is my children missing their father.
That's the worst.
[Alberto] I think my life
would've been different
if my dad was alive.
I can say I'm over it, and I live with it,
but it must've been hard as a kid.
I guess I suffered a lot.
[projector clicking]
I'd like to remember his face, how he was,
but I don't remember anything
about my dad.
[Elena] It's been hard for me to be
both a father and mother of two boys.
If he saw them now, he'd be very proud.
[projector clicking]
When he shot me,
I didn't feel it.
It didn't hurt.
You don't feel it.
So I thought,
if I jumped from a bridge,
it wouldn't hurt either.
If I jump, it won't hurt
because it doesn't.
Who would be hurt the most
were other people.
My family.
That's it.
I told myself
I couldn't do that to my family.
I had to keep living.
And that's what I'm doing.
ALFREDO GALÁN WILL BE RELEASED IN 2028.
HE WILL HAVE SPENT 25 YEARS IN PRISON.
IN 2016, AFTER CHANGING HIS NAME,
HE PUBLISHED A NOVEL.
IT TELLS THE STORY OF A GAY TEENAGE BOY
WHO IS BULLIED AT SCHOOL.
NEITHER ALFREDO GALÁN NOR HIS FAMILY
WANTED TO TAKE PART IN THIS DOCUMENTARY.
[electronic music playing]
Alfredo Galán Sotillo.
[dramatic music playing]
The man who has been tormenting
150 police officers for over half a year.
[in Spanish] How is the prisoner?
- Is he okay?
- [man] Gonzalo!
Don't cry!
[man] He was from Puertollano,
we'd like to say a few things to his face.
- I grew up with them.
- Yes.
I've never seen
him or his siblings do anything bad.
The entire town is shocked.
[man in Spanish] He used to live here.
But he joined the military
and hasn't been around much since.
[in English] I found out
he turned himself in when I saw him on TV.
I never thought
he'd be the Playing Card Killer.
[reporter 1] He enjoyed
killing his victims.
[reporter 2] Impulsive,
arrogant, narcissistic.
[reporter 3] Alfonso Galán
is the most wanted man in Puertollano.
Alfonso Galán Sotillo.
I saw the picture and that wasn't Alfonso.
That's Alfredo.
Everyone called me
because he was my friend.
I couldn't believe it.
[man] Alfredo began to associate
with other kinds of people
with a far-right-wing ideology.
[funky music playing]
I couldn't believe it.
Even today, I still can't.
[judge] Okay, let's proceed.
Mr. Galán, you are charged
with five counts of murder.
Plus three counts of attempted murder,
three counts of criminal injury,
and one count
of illegal possession of weapons.
Do you plead innocent
or guilty or no contest to these charges?
[funky music playing]
THE PLAYING CARD KILLER
[buzzing]
[Helena] I decided
to become a criminal lawyer
because I thought that everyone
has the right to a defense.
You condemn the crime, but you
can have sympathy for the criminal.
NATIONAL POLICE HEADQUARTERS
When I entered the room
where Alfredo Galán was,
it drew my attention
that he was with police officers
instead of staying in a cell
waiting for his lawyer to arrive,
which is the usual.
He was even offered something
to drink or something to eat.
It was a very relaxed atmosphere.
[phone ringing]
He was telling us
about the crimes, very calmly.
It was like he learned a script
and he was just reciting it.
HE WANTS TO MAKE A STATEMEN
ABOUT THE CRIMES FOR WHICH HE IS CHARGED
HE'LL LIST THE EVENTS
AS HE REMEMBERS THEM:
Alfredo Galán's statements
really caught my attention.
Because if we look
at the first one in Puertollano,
it was a very brief statement.
UNABLE TO RECALL THE EXACT DATE
(OR THE STREET)
And then
NO EXACT LOCATION - NO EXACT DATE
it was like he started
to remember a lot of details.
STATEMENT OF PERSON IN CUSTODY
I'm not saying the police officers
NUMBER 89 - 12:30 A.M.
consciously wanted
to give him additional information,
but maybe unconsciously,
they gave him
more information than they should've
or they were talking and he heard them
so he used it to embellish his statements.
[upbeat news channel music plays]
He incriminated himself
yesterday before a judicial clerk,
although the weapon
he used is still missing.
Virginia Mayoral, has the alleged killer
left the Tetuán police station?
He hasn't left yet.
We're still waiting outside
but any time now,
the alleged Playing Card Killer
will be leaving his cell
at the Tetuán station in Madrid
to be taken back to Puertollano
where police are still
searching for the weapon
he claims to have used in the murders.
Finding the smoking gun
would've been the cherry
on top of the investigation.
If he said the weapon is in a place
and the weapon is in fact there,
we could've been sure
he was the person who committed the crime.
When you find the weapon,
you can confidently say
it was the weapon that fired all the shots
and left all the shells.
But that's only when you find the gun.
Alfredo Galán claimed that he had thrown
the gun in a trash can near his home.
When? About a month ago.
A couple of months ago.
Well, is it one or two?
That's how precise he was.
[church bell rings]
[suspenseful music playing]
We spoke to City Hall.
And they said that the trash
from Puertollano and the neighboring towns
was collected and processed
by a solid waste company
in Castilla-La Mancha
in Almodóvar del Campo.
LANDFILL
We spoke to the waste company
and they said it was a plot of land
which was about a mile away
and 10,000 tons had to be moved.
[TV reporter] More than once,
they thought they were close
because among the trash,
there are many objects that look similar
to the ones the police are looking for.
A gun, a cartridge belt,
and a deck of cards.
But they found a different deck
of cards from the one used by the killer,
hunting shells,
and other misleading objects.
- Something's here.
- [reporter] What did you find?
[worker] Wallets, vibrators.
A bit of everything.
[reporter] In 30 days,
they've moved 1,000 tons of trash
and still no trace of the gun.
[Jesús] I have a friend back home
who was some kind of dowser,
one of those people
who looks for water with a pendulum.
One morning, I took him to Puertollano
and I realized it was no use.
The pendulum did move,
but there was a lot of metal
and that thing didn't stop moving.
I even did that
trying to find that weapon.
We spent weeks there.
We moved tons and tons of trash
with no results.
ORDER TO TERMINATE THE SEARCH
BEING CARRIED OUT AT THE LANDFILL
COURTHOUSE
[broadcaster in Spanish] The Playing Card
Killer is making headlines again today.
He will appear in a police lineup.
The lineup will take place at 1:00 p.m.
The Ecuadorian woman
who survived the attack will be there.
Her Ecuadorian boyfriend
was shot in the face,
allegedly by the so-called
[in English] It was Galán's own defense,
my brilliant colleague,
Helena.
She was the one to request the lineup.
Alfredo Galán's face
was all over the media.
He appeared on TV,
therefore the lineup itself was tainted.
[reporter 1 in Spanish] He's a cold
and arrogant man with no respect
for human life
[reporter 2] He went from being
a facial composite to having a real face.
[reporter 1] He loved guns.
[reporter 2] Alfredo Galán's face
will be identified.
[expert] According
to ancient Chinese philosophy,
his face resembles one
of a feline, hyena, panther.
[in English] What's the point of a lineup
if one of the faces
has been seen by everyone in Spain?
It was completely useless unless
it was to make any of the witnesses
or survivors say
that they didn't recognize him,
show doubts, or rule him out.
[ominous music playing]
The police lineup was unforgettable.
Ana was really nervous.
She was extremely upset.
It was shocking for me
because it was Alfredo Galán,
the person who confessed.
You did a composite sketch,
you saw him. It's him, right?
It is.
And
No.
His lips were too thin,
his hair wasn't as thick.
He didn't have
that dark brown hair she remembered.
That raised doubts in her mind.
But it had to be him because he confessed.
There's proof and evidence linking him.
She repeatedly said she was not sure.
In that moment,
it made those of us
who were listening very uneasy.
She said maybe it was number three.
So they put it
on the record she was not sure.
"Not sure." She had doubts.
SHE HAS DOUBTS ABOUT NUMBER THREE
POLICE LINEUP REPOR
This was more than indicative
ALFREDO GALÁN SOTILLO
after seeing him all over the media.
The picture was online.
It appeared on TV very often.
And still she has doubts.
That was certainly indicative.
[upbeat news channel music plays]
Alfredo Galán, the alleged
Playing Card Killer,
is in Soto del Real
in solitary confinement.
Tomorrow a team of psychologists,
educators, and social workers
will interview Galán.
I've devoted my entire professional career
to psychiatry.
The last report I wrote
was actually Alfredo Galán's report.
COURTHOUSE
They took him to Plaza Castilla
and I interviewed him first.
[ominous music playing]
[shouting]
[camera shutters clicking]
Right away,
he started telling me things
and I was shocked
because usually when someone
commits a crime
they deny it.
Not only did he not deny it,
but during the course of four interviews,
he gave lots of information
about what he did.
THE INCENTIVE WAS
"KILLING FOR THE SAKE OF KILLING"
KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE
TO TAKE SOMEONE'S LIFE
I didn't have time
to write everything down.
He was talking a lot.
HE WANTED TO DO I
EVEN THOUGH HE KNEW IT WAS WRONG
HE DIDN'T FEEL ANYTHING AFTER KILLING
HE NEITHER FELT REGRET THEN NOR NOW
Those weren't symptoms of mental illness.
They were symptoms of a way of being.
ANTISOCIAL
NARCISSISTIC
AGGRESSIVE-SADISTIC
PARANOID THOUGHTS
A CLEAR DISREGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE
ATTITUDE OF A HUMAN PREDATOR
I did the psychiatric report.
And to go with it,
I asked a trusted colleague
to do a psychological report
to confirm and corroborate
the personality traits
that weren't clear in the interviews.
I did two types of test.
First, psychometric test,
the ones that most people
are familiar with.
Asking, "True or false?"
"A lot or a little?"
SOMEONE IS CONTROLLING MY MIND
TRUE - FALSE
I'M AFRAID OF GOING CRAZY
SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH ME
I HEAR VOICES
AND DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY COME FROM
I SEE THINGS, ANIMALS, OR PEOPLE
THAT OTHER PEOPLE DON'T SEE
Then there's a type of test
called a projective test
in which the person has to draw.
I asked him how he saw himself.
I remember he told me
he felt happy, calm, cheerful,
and living with his wife,
happy and millionaires.
When I heard that,
I felt it was kind of contradictory
considering the life
he was actually living.
He told me how many siblings he had,
how his mother died
when his younger brother was born.
When something is missing
during childhood like a mother figure
or when there's
a very authoritarian father,
obviously, there can be consequences.
What's hard, what we can't be sure of,
is the cause-and-effect relationship.
When Alfredo Galán was arrested,
another race against the clock started.
One of many we had.
I started talking with all the lawyers,
the accusers,
the prosecutor, with everyone,
until I finally got my hands
on Alfredo Galán's psychiatric report.
It was devastating.
THE PLAYING CARD KILLER
KILLED "FOR PLEASURE"
"I'D THINK ABOUT KILLING
WHEN I WATCHED TV, AND THAT'S IT"
From the moment Alfredo Galán
turned himself in in Puertollano,
a trial by media a started.
We've received information
from his psychiatric report.
[reporter] Impulsive,
arrogant, narcissistic.
He murdered for the pleasure
of knowing what it felt like.
He said he killed to know
what it felt like, but he felt nothing.
He wanted to show how easy it was to kill.
THE WORDS OF A MURDERER
A HUMAN PREDATOR
THE LOOK OF A MONSTER - CONCEITED
HE KILLED FOR PLEASURE
It's obvious they should've been
more cautious with this issue
about the leaks.
I think they always distort things
but they should protect
the person's privacy.
What we didn't want
was to suggest this person's guilt
before the trial.
Our job is just to inform.
We had that information
and we couldn't remain silent.
EXPERTS SAY, "HE PUNISHES LIFE BY KILLING.
THAT'S HOW HE OVERCAME HIS FRUSTRATIONS"
I don't usually spend
more than an hour in an interview.
I spent five hours with him.
In an interview,
we can only manage to scratch
the surface of a person,
not get deep inside their heads.
I don't think that I've ever done that.
I wouldn't say
I know Alfredo Galán in depth,
but I got to know him enough
to write the report.
[ominous music playing]
I met Alfredo Galán Sotillo
when I joined the military
And just by chance,
we ended up in the same group.
And for whatever reason,
we ended up sharing a bunk.
It was hard
coming from a very small town.
It wasn't easy.
It wasn't for me.
- I was just 18 back then.
- [in Spanish] Hi, grandma.
[Rubén in English] And suddenly,
someone who didn't know me
gave me his friendship just like that.
That's how he was.
From the day I met him until today.
[projector clicking]
I met Alfredo Galán in 1999,
if I'm not wrong.
[man] Suárez.
[Javier] We were in the same unit
and we had to run together.
We had to do urban combat or shooting.
Back then, he was a very shy person
but once you gained his trust
and he felt comfortable with you,
he opened up completely
and got close, personable.
And he was even a very good friend.
[projector clicking]
[Rubén] Our company
was stationed at El Goloso
and they told us
our unit was going on a mission to Bosnia.
TORREJÓN DE ARDOZ AIR BASE
To Bosnia.
We went on a peace mission.
We didn't go
when there was a battle going on.
We went as humanitarian aid.
Maybe we saw things that other teenagers
wouldn't usually see.
But our mission there was to help people.
We developed a level of camaraderie
which is very common in the army.
We were having good times, bad times,
and we were always together.
That creates a very strong bond.
We were like brothers.
Film this. I'm going to marry
the baker. I'll marry her.
When the mission was over,
we would go to the local bars.
At times, when you're drinking
industrial amounts of booze,
it's not uncommon
for things to sometimes get out of hand.
It might be a little hassle
with someone at the bar
but he wasn't particularly aggressive.
Quite the opposite.
He usually acted very shy around people.
Our mission was to make the citizens
hand over their weapons.
Because we understood civilians
couldn't be allowed to be armed.
There was a big black market
before we would go fight.
Local people would come
with stuff in blankets.
Grenades, combat knives, ammunition, guns.
We had all that within our reach.
And we all took something.
I took a combat knife myself, from an AK.
Some took grenades.
He told me he hid a gun in a TV.
Back then, TVs weren't like today.
They were a big square box.
He snuck the gun in there
but I never saw it.
He didn't show me the gun.
I don't think he showed it to anyone.
Going through security
wasn't like it is at a normal airport.
Basically,
we didn't have to empty our bags.
They just glanced at our stuff
because there were so many of us.
And off we went.
[ominous music playing]
BOSNIA - OCTOBER 30, 2002
He returned from Bosnia
to take some time off.
Not only did they
not give him the time off,
he was sent to another hell.
DAILY NEWS
[Matías] These were the last seconds
of the Prestige.
The ship split and sank
at 150 miles from Cape Finisterre
while carrying 70,000 tons of fuel.
Once I left the army,
Alfredo and the rest of my unit
went to clean up the oil in Galicia.
[Juan] That's where he lost control.
From the beginning,
he started behaving aggressively
with commanders, fellow soldiers,
and in the street.
Apparently, Alfredo had an anxiety attack.
He pulled an old lady from a car.
He threw her out of the car
and tried to drive off,
basically stealing it.
They stopped him.
They saw he was very anxious.
They took him and sent him to a hospital
and he was diagnosed
with an anxiety attack.
"GÓMEZ ULLA" CENTRAL MILITARY HOSPITAL
ALFREDO GALÁN SOTILLO
EPISODE OF AGITATION
REQUIRES INPATIENT PSYCHIATRIC TREATMEN
He was someone that had
certain imbalances,
especially with alcohol.
[shouting]
[in Spanish] "Eat healthy."
- Clap your hands.
- Lots of whiskey.
- Look, everyone.
- Drink all night!
Come on!
[projector clicking]
[in English] He was discharged
at his own request shortly after that.
They did an outpatient follow up
MADRID, DECEMBER 20, 2002
and he was treated
for an anxiety disorder.
He requested his discharge from the army
and while being processed,
he kept making
regular visits to the hospital.
At the same time,
he committed at least three murders.
DECEMBER 27 - PSYCHIATRY
JANUARY 13 - PSYCHIATRY
JANUARY 22 - PSYCHIATRY
JANUARY 28 - PSYCHIATRY
FEBRUARY 18, FEBRUARY 27
MARCH 4 - PSYCHIATRY
JANUARY 24 - ALONSO CANO STREET CRIME
FEBRUARY 5 - ALAMEDA DE OSUNA CRIME
BAR ROJAS CRIME
MARCH 7 - TRES CANTOS CRIME
MARCH 18 - ARGANDA DEL REY CRIME
They need to improve
the selection process,
especially when handling guns.
Current filters
are not enough.
- [in Spanish] I have to piss.
- Where it says "pain."
It says "pain," not "Spain."
[in English] I saw him in August
and the results I got showed this person
could lose touch with reality.
He would develop psychosis
or have a breakdown.
He was very paranoid.
He felt observed,
he had trust issues
and thought he was going to be hurt.
When I noticed that, it drew my attention.
I told Carrasco this
and shortly after that,
he changed his statement.
MADRID - SEPTEMBER 10, 2003
[indistinct chatter]
[Beatriz] We were in examining court
number ten in Plaza Castilla.
COURTHOUSE
It was September 10th
and Madrid was suffering a heatwave.
The Playing Card Killer is going to plea.
Expectations were huge. Maybe Helena
knew what was coming but we didn't.
The private prosecution
was next to the witness stand
and the defense, Helena,
was alone confronting all of us.
Like a warrior.
She was facing a big bull.
"Alfredo Galán Sotillo,
you have the right to remain silent,
to not answer the questions asked,
to plead not guilty."
[suspenseful music playing]
"Will you plea?"
"Yes."
Expectations were high.
Alfredo Galán spoke
and he changed his story.
Alfredo Galán turned himself in
at Puertollano last July,
claiming to be the Playing Card Killer.
He gave various details in his statement.
Two months later,
he told the judge it was all a lie,
but he knows those who did it.
He says he didn't do it
but now he claims to know who did,
hinting that they might even be skinheads.
He said
he's not the murderer.
It's true, he brought the gun back
from his tour in Bosnia.
But in fact,
he sold that gun to some other people.
HE SOLD THAT HANDGUN
TO ONE OF THOSE TWO PEOPLE
AND HE KNOWS THEIR NAME
He explained that the two killers
gave him two months to turn himself in.
Otherwise, they'd give the five
and six of cups to his sisters,
which means they would kill them.
Galán says he got depressed
and even considered suicide
but then he decided to turn himself in.
His sister was everything to him.
He has a little sister.
He always talked about her.
They had a strong bond,
they were very close.
I thought the first story was plausible
because I had other elements.
I can't talk about them
out of confidentiality
but they made me
believe this second version.
It's not that I don't believe it.
I'm just saying I can't rule it out.
Because he was drunk when he confessed.
Nobody believed him.
He was very apathetic.
He didn't match the profile
to be the murderer.
[suspenseful music playing]
I was surprised
when I saw on TV that they were looking
for an elite shooter from the army.
His profile didn't match that
of an elite shooter.
When we practiced shooting, he'd tremble.
Literally shaking.
SHOOTING LOGBOOK - ALFREDO GALÁN SOTILLO
NERVOUS
Galán's new version
helped to fill in some gaps,
but it wasn't the whole story.
He said there were more accusations
he was being pressured about
and was forced to turn himself in.
[Helena] When the prosecutor
asked more questions,
he said he wouldn't answer any more.
To no one, not even me.
Why not try
with that line of investigation?
Let's allow him
to give names and identify people.
What if it's true? What's there to lose?
If it's false, the story will break down
and if it's true,
other people might be caught.
The prosecutor said there was no need.
There's no evidence to support it.
It didn't sound that off.
There could be ties
between Alfredo Galán and the far right.
Because maybe in the army,
he got in contact with certain people
who led him into that sort of ideology.
[tense music playing]
At the beginning,
Alfredo hung out with us.
At the end, he started
hanging out with other people
with a far-right-wing ideology.
[in Spanish] Second lieutenant
Mario Caparrós Trillo.
This is our friend Francisco.
- Long live Spain.
- Paquito.
Look at him
and his Spanish flag suspenders.
Hey, film this.
Long live Spain!
Facing the sun in a new shirt ♪
[in English] He confessed out of fear
or because he was threatened.
I lean toward the possibility that
under the influence
of drugs or alcohol or other substances,
he could have
somehow become the perfect scapegoat.
With what we had, we were sure
Alfredo was the only perpetrator
of the crimes.
There's no evidence showing a connection
with far-right-wing people.
The irrefutable truth is
Galán had a cartridge
that was used in the weapon
that struck the shell
found in the doorman. How's that possible?
We knew it was him.
Anyway,
it wasn't credible
neither for the judge, nor for us.
The judge based her decision
on that and so did the police.
The only thing Alfredo Galán asked for
was protection for him
and his family in exchange for talking.
It was denied.
[typewriter keys click]
MADRID - FEBRUARY 7, 2005
MADRID PROVINCIAL CRIMINAL COUR
[in Spanish] See if you can do it. Look.
[in English] When you've covered crimes
for this long,
you see trials that are like a play.
The climax of the investigation
is when it ends.
In the case of the Playing Card Killer,
the trial took a lot of time.
There were five criminal cases
with several murders
and attempted murders,
something never seen in Madrid.
It was so much work.
It was a very interesting trial
and it brought together
the crème de la crème of criminal lawyers.
The staging was very good.
[in Spanish] Who? What do you have to?
She'll testify via video call
because she doesn't want to face Galán.
So that's how we'll do it.
[in English] It was a spectacle.
It was the most important case
Spain had seen in years.
They were deciding the fate
of a vicious serial killer in Madrid.
[in Spanish] Get the shot,
since she's covered
[in English] I just hope justice is served
and for that man
to be in prison for a long, long time.
[siren sounds]
- [in Spanish] Come on. Who is pushing me?
- Hang on.
- Look.
- [woman] We have to wait.
CIVIL GUARD
[suspenseful music playing]
[judge in English] Mr. Galán, take a seat.
You're being charged
with five counts of murder
plus three counts of attempted murder,
three counts of criminal injury,
and one count
of illegal possession of weapons.
Do you plead innocent or guilty
or no contest to these charges?
All right.
The evidence against Alfredo Galán
was his own statement and surrender,
the retrieved bullet shell,
they never found the Tokarev gun,
the testimonies of the survivors,
and then finally,
the police lineup that took place.
[reporter] Two cases are being tried.
The first is Juan Carlos Martín's murder
at the bus stop in Alameda de Osuna
and then, the shooting
at the Rojas bar on the same day
only twelve hours later,
where two people died
and one was badly injured.
And it is that testimony
of Teresa, the protected witness,
that's the most anticipated.
Her testimony is taking place now
and we'll have the details later.
[ominous music playing]
I said I wasn't going to Madrid.
I did it from Bilbao.
SURVIVOR
I didn't want to be there,
let alone to see him.
[judge] Teresa Sánchez García,
is that you?
[Teresa] Yes.
[judge] Okay, let's start then.
María Teresa, do you swear
to tell the whole truth in this courtroom?
Yes.
I took comfort in my family.
I didn't want to know anything.
It was like
How to put it?
It wasn't a circus.
You see, I didn't lose my son.
He was murdered.
It's one thing for a son to die
in an accident or from a disease
but mine was murdered
in front of me.
Right in front of me.
Are you firmly convinced
the person you saw
on February 5th, 2003,
at your bar with your son, shot him,
turned around, shot Juana Uclés,
killing them both,
who then shot and severely injured you
was Alfredo Galán?
Absolutely. It's him.
Defense counsel.
Good morning, Teresa.
You recognized another person
who's not my client
when you saw him from the side.
Is that so?
[Teresa] Yes.
They looked alike
from the side. Same nose.
[ominous music playing]
[Teresa] I was wrong
that day at the police lineup.
I wasn't feeling okay.
So basically, that means
you've never seen my client from the side.
I saw him at the bar
the day he killed my son.
Teresa had described
and recognized another person.
A pre-trial detainee
who was detained for some time
and that she recognized
without hesitation.
So, with all due respect
to her pain and her loss,
her testimony lacks all credibility.
[judge] Let's finish the video call.
Thank you to the officials in Bilbao.
[in Spanish] We're finishing now.
[in English] Two survivors
of the Playing Card Killer
testified in the trial
against Alfredo Galán.
One of them, a man from Ecuador,
successfully recovered
from a shot to the face.
The girl that was with him in the Madrid
area of Tres Cantos was spared
when the murderer's gun jammed.
[ominous music playing]
I was going to represent Ana and Eduardo.
Both came to my office.
At that time, probably as a result
of the shock and PTSD,
he had no clear recollection
of what happened.
[ominous music playing]
Back then, Eduardo was unable to tell me
who shot him.
He couldn't even describe
the face of the shooter.
When a police lineup was requested
for Eduardo to identify Galán,
the prosecutor objected.
In a handwritten note,
we were informed the lineup made no sense
since he had already stated
he didn't see anything.
SANTIAGO EDUARDO SALAS
DID NOT SEE THE ATTACKER AT ANY TIME
BECAUSE HE WAS LOOKING DOWN
In the end,
Eduardo decided to be represented
by my colleague, Marcos García-Montes.
- [in Spanish] Okay.
- Okay. Calm down.
[in English] How are you, Marcos?
I was with Eduardo earlier this morning.
He's nervous, he's taking medication,
but he wants to see his face.
I've been called a star lawyer
but the case is the star, not the lawyer.
Media star? It's not my fault
if a client chooses to hire me.
My motto is you invest a lot of hours
with passion and conviction.
[ominous music playing]
When I got the case,
Eduardo was under treatment here.
He was in the hospital
having his mouth reconstructed.
He had a successful recovery, fortunately.
[judge] Please bring in
Santiago Eduardo Salas Erazo.
[Marcos] If I could,
Your Honor, our client
has requested to testify
confronting the assailant face to face.
He's requested that the screen be removed.
If you could move
the defendant up, please.
Okay. I agree to him being moved up.
Mr. Salas Erazo. Come here, please.
Okay, Mr. Salas.
Do you swear?
Sir, will you please look at the court?
Do you swear to tell
the whole truth in this courtroom?
- The whole truth.
- [judge] Good.
When you entered, you stared
for several seconds at the defendant.
Yes.
- [Marcos] Did he shoot you?
- Yes.
- You saw him perfectly?
- [Eduardo] Perfectly.
The plan with Eduardo
was to reinforce him emotionally.
To boost his ego
so when he testified, he'd be convincing.
I've seen clients
lying through their teeth
but they looked like Ladrón de Guevara
or Margarita Xirgu. Great actors.
And I've seen others tell the truth
in a way that no one believes them.
I wanted to reinforce him emotionally
for his testimony to be convincing.
Whatever your client says,
the acting has to be strong.
- He was leaning.
- [Marcos] Yes.
And I heard footsteps coming.
I go like this then I was like this.
It caught my attention.
This person was walking like this.
He came like this.
[Helena] That's impossible.
[judge] Sir, you have
to be near the microphone.
He walked toward us like I showed you
and I stared at him
for about seven or eight seconds
while he walked toward us
as he was about 50 feet away.
I raised my head
in his direction, saw him again.
He was around six feet tall
with a hooked nose, dark eyebrows.
Then I felt
a rumbling in my head.
It was like
an explosion inside of my head.
The victim's statement
was enough to get a conviction
and that statement
contributed throughout this process
because unfortunately,
the others didn't see his face.
Defense counsel, please.
[Helena] Yes, Your Honor.
On March 14th, you were ready to testify
and that day,
you said you didn't see the perpetrator
because your head was toward the floor.
This was read to you or you read it.
You don't have sight problems.
[Marcos] We'll strictly address
this interrogation later.
There's been an intellectual intervention
of this statement by the defense.
It's a terrible perversion
because before that last phrase,
our client said he allegedly looked
to his right
and according to him, he saw someone
walking toward the end of the tunnel.
He described the subject,
six feet tall, black hair,
and then he says it was after that
when he put his head toward the ground.
- [Helena] Excuse me.
- That's the truth, counsel.
- [Helena] It doesn't say that.
- Let's see. One moment please.
She was playing mind games
and trying to confuse my client.
It's one thing to ask,
it's another to harass.
Are you sure the tunnel
was lit enough to see?
I'm completely sure.
[Helena] Why do you think
the Civil Guard says otherwise?
I thought it was well, perfectly lit.
- [Helena] Better than this room?
- Yes.
Then why are you afraid of the dark?
Why am I afraid of the dark?
I've had that fear ever since I was shot.
[Helena] But the tunnel was well lit.
[Eduardo] But I'm afraid of the dark.
Sure. No further questions. Thank you.
Any questions from counsel?
My personal opinion is that the witnesses
were all very affected during this trial.
Of course, I won't say
that they were lying. Not at all, I won't.
But for me, back then
at the time of the trial,
they turned out to be very unreliable.
Put Mr. Galán a bit further down.
[ominous music playing]
No. Just a little bit further.
That's it. Yes.
Let's bring in protected witness A.
[Beatriz] Ana was in Ecuador.
She had no money to travel
and they didn't help her.
And she was the star witness
of the prosecution.
She was never seen as a victim.
She was annoying.
She was annoying because she spoke
to the media in the first place.
"CONVINCED HE WOULD KILL ME"
And because she wasn't precise,
she didn't make
an accurate identification.
It was annoying to bring her here
and to take her home.
Sit down, Miss.
Over there by the microphone, please.
Do you swear to tell
the whole truth in this courtroom?
- I swear.
- [judge] Good.
You remember that night
at the police station?
Several people were put in front
of you for you to see if any of them
was the person who approached and shot.
- Yes.
- [lawyer] You pointed out someone.
Exactly.
[lawyer] And you said you had doubts.
[Anahid] Exactly.
Can you explain to us
what doubts did you have?
[Anahid] Yes.
I wasn't sure about his face.
I paid more attention
to his physical build
and his eyes
because we stared at each other.
I'll never forget that look.
[Helena] So you're relaxed
and don't fear for your life?
Well I'm calm, yes.
Maybe it's something that got into my head
but there might be
other people behind this too.
Ana was sure Galán was guilty
because Galán was guilty,
no doubt about it.
Ana's doubts were and this
will haunt me for the rest of my life
if Galán acted alone
or if there was someone else.
[reporter] Is Galán the killer
or could someone else be involved?
I've always thought
that Galán was involved
but there were more people.
My father was Francisco Ledesma.
He was the doorman of Alonso Cano.
FRANCISCO LEDESMA'S DAUGHTER
He was the first victim
of the Playing Card Killer.
[projector clicking]
[ominous music playing]
When he turned himself in,
I didn't sigh in relief
and think it was over.
No. No.
I've always had the feeling
that it couldn't be one person.
I think there were more.
I've thought that from the start.
I still think so.
[ominous music playing]
Alfredo Galán's statement
about the crime at Alonso Cano,
to be fair, didn't make much sense.
He described him wearing overalls
and my dad was wearing a jacket.
[projector clicking]
He had glasses on.
The glass was missing
from where he was shot.
Alfredo Galán didn't say
my father was wearing glasses or a jacket.
He said everything went smoothly.
He came in,
grabbed my dad, put him on his knees.
My dad begged him not to kill him.
"FACING THE WALL"
I don't see him being so submissive
to another person in spite of the gun.
My dad's knuckles were bruised.
Also, one of his eyes was black.
Those are defensive wounds.
I mean, that doesn't seem very submissive.
[ominous music playing]
I entered the courtroom
with high expectations
but it seemed completely scripted.
There wasn't anything useful
coming out of it.
In all of the hearings,
I always tried to sit behind Alfredo Galán
just to see if he reacted,
especially to the witnesses' statements
about the victims.
To see if he reacted
in any way, any movement,
but actually he didn't flinch.
His attitude was certainly one
of absolute detachment.
Not only was he not speaking,
he wasn't in the room.
His gaze was fixed on the ground,
very discouraged and gloomy.
Like a defeated man.
No anger, no rage, just indifference.
He accepted his fate.
He came out with his face covered.
FRANCISCO LEDESMA'S WIDOW
He wore a big cap
and was always bent over.
He didn't show his face.
He was a disturbing, strange individual.
He didn't act
like a murderer looking for fame,
acting histrionic,
enjoying the cameras,
who wanted to be heard.
He wasn't Ted Bundy.
[Ángel] Everyone was worried.
They were all
looking for that ruthless killer
because the press has a tendency
to create images of murderers.
We mythologize them
as if they were very intelligent,
always well dressed.
They're nothing like that.
It's really quite the opposite.
They're people with a vulgar background
and not very smart.
[ominous music playing]
[broadcaster in Spanish] Many people
will be late to work in Madrid today.
There's no doubt about it.
Kids won't make it to school
and sick people will postpone
their doctor's appointments.
These are images of Madrid this morning.
[in English] My God, how it snowed
on the last day of the trial.
Flakes the size of chips.
It was like Switzerland.
It should have been a normal day in Madrid
but not on the last day
of the Playing Card Killer's case.
[man in Spanish] You can all take a seat.
Take a seat, please.
Public hearing.
Expectations are high here
on the last day of Alfredo Galán's trial.
Expectations are so high
that many journalists couldn't get inside.
There wasn't room for everyone.
High expectations are caused by the fact
that this is the last opportunity
we'll have to hear from Alfredo Galán.
He will be given the opportunity
to speak when the trial is over.
We don't know if he will do it or not
[unsettling music playing]
[Helena in English] I can't talk about it
due to professional confidentiality,
but I can say that in the end,
what I had agreed to
with my client didn't happen.
[judge] Alfredo Galán, stand up, please.
Would you like to make a statement?
Court is adjourned, you may leave.
Mr. Galán, please follow the officers.
Would you remain seated and quiet, please?
[Beatriz] Silence can be read.
You can stay silent
but if any innocent citizen
is shown evidence against him
and he decides
not to give any explanation,
it's because there is no explanation.
Sometimes, when you're scared,
you prefer not to say anything.
The question is, "What would've happened
if he hadn't turned himself in?"
My opinion? They wouldn't have caught him.
Even if he hadn't turned himself in,
when we received the list
of the soldiers in treatment
or in past treatments
that had been
on humanitarian missions around Kosovo,
we would've caught him.
LAST NAMES AND NAME
[interviewer] Alfredo Galán
is not on the lists.
He's not?
Well, that's odd.
I don't know why.
I guess it must be a mistake.
I don't remember what we got wrong
but indeed, he wasn't on the list.
But he was on another list.
On March 31st,
we issued a notice
asking our colleagues in the police
to give us around 20 names daily.
Alfredo Galán was there
on the third day, among those names.
By the way, the photo
wouldn't have been very helpful
because it was taken
when he was 18 or 19 years old.
He looks very young. But I mean,
he was there, we had it on the tables.
The Civil Guard showed me these lists
for informational purposes
and Alfredo Galán was on there
with a handwritten note next to his name.
I told the person that showed me the note
that he could've written it afterwards,
once we arrested him.
I said, "I'm gonna believe you."
But it doesn't make sense
because the lists were huge.
They had nothing on him.
He had to make a mistake.
A recording from a bank camera
or a traffic camera. Something.
The investigators say
this case was a success
and that's shocking
because he turned himself in.
If he hadn't done that,
maybe they would've never found him.
Actually, they were far from getting him.
[typewriter clicking]
MADRID - MARCH 4, 2005
The Playing Card Killer was sentenced
to 142 years in prison for his crimes
and for those he had planned.
The court pointed out
that his disregard for life
should make it harder for him
to obtain prison privileges or parole.
The victim's lawyers believe
the state should pay compensation
given that he was in the military
when he committed his crimes
and that he also used a gun he bought
in Bosnia, while he was stationed there.
I lost my son
my home,
I lost my job,
everything.
My whole life in seven seconds.
And nobody has bothered calling me
to see how I'm doing.
The actions of the state
are absolutely outrageous.
I'm outraged.
The state washed its hands.
Wasn't it guilty
of Alfredo Galán bringing a Tokarev
from the army inside a TV?
Isn't that poor oversight?
If you had done your job,
maybe he wouldn't have gotten a Tokarev,
he wouldn't have hidden it inside a TV,
and he wouldn't have brought it to Spain.
We all thought it was very unfair.
We appealed to the Supreme Court
but the victims didn't receive anything.
I know money doesn't make up
for someone's passing.
It won't bring them back.
It will not cure
any physical after effects
but it's sad they didn't receive anything.
[upbeat playful music playing]
HERRERA DE LA MANCHA PENITENTIARY
We received this letter
while we were in the middle
of investigating Eva Blanco's murder.
The return address
was Rubén Galán Sotillo,
Herrera de la Mancha Prison.
I asked my colleagues if they realized
this was the Playing Card Killer.
He changed his name.
I think it was Palacios who called me
to tell me what he had gotten from
my dear friend.
[projector clicking]
And he said he wanted to give us a hand
to solve Eva Blanco's case.
I was in awe when I read it.
Seven stab wounds, most in the back,
and apparently one killer.
That's how Eva Blanco, age 16, died.
He wrote it on August 30th, 2015
and he said
that after seeing the case of the rape
and murder of Eva Blanco on TV,
he wanted to share a theory,
if it was of any use.
THE MURDERER MAY BE DEALING WITH
PRESSURES HE CAN'T CONTROL
INTROVERTED, IMMATURE,
AND WORKING IN AN UNFULFILLING JOB
YOU SHOULD USE THE MEDIA TO PRESSURE HIM
WAIT FOR HIM TO MAKE A MISTAKE
The letter is priceless.
We wondered what he was doing in prison.
It was like he was
in his first year of criminology school.
[siren sounds]
I have written many letters
to Alfredo Galán
because I'd like to talk to him.
I've asked him whether
Well, if it was him.
I wanted to know the truth.
I told him that's all I want.
As I was saying,
I think my father didn't get any justice.
I never received a reply.
[Beatriz] The victim's treated
like an object in the crime scene.
Alfredo Galán will always be
the Playing Card Killer
but the victims
become blurry and forgotten over time.
[unsettling music playing]
The worst of all
is my children missing their father.
That's the worst.
[Alberto] I think my life
would've been different
if my dad was alive.
I can say I'm over it, and I live with it,
but it must've been hard as a kid.
I guess I suffered a lot.
[projector clicking]
I'd like to remember his face, how he was,
but I don't remember anything
about my dad.
[Elena] It's been hard for me to be
both a father and mother of two boys.
If he saw them now, he'd be very proud.
[projector clicking]
When he shot me,
I didn't feel it.
It didn't hurt.
You don't feel it.
So I thought,
if I jumped from a bridge,
it wouldn't hurt either.
If I jump, it won't hurt
because it doesn't.
Who would be hurt the most
were other people.
My family.
That's it.
I told myself
I couldn't do that to my family.
I had to keep living.
And that's what I'm doing.
ALFREDO GALÁN WILL BE RELEASED IN 2028.
HE WILL HAVE SPENT 25 YEARS IN PRISON.
IN 2016, AFTER CHANGING HIS NAME,
HE PUBLISHED A NOVEL.
IT TELLS THE STORY OF A GAY TEENAGE BOY
WHO IS BULLIED AT SCHOOL.
NEITHER ALFREDO GALÁN NOR HIS FAMILY
WANTED TO TAKE PART IN THIS DOCUMENTARY.
[electronic music playing]