THE alleged killer of Gabriel Cruz Ramirez, Ana Julia Quezada, has been remanded in custody.
After being remanded in Almeria’s El Acebuche prison, lead investigators reportedly called her “egocentric, manipulative and possessive.”
Quezada was arrested in the early hours of Sunday after police discovered the body of missing eight-year-old Gabriel Cruz Ramirez in the boot of the car she was driving.
Police had reportedly been following the woman since she allegedly discovered a t-shirt at the bottom of the Las Aguilas ravine, which was later confirmed to have traces of Gabriel’s DNA.
She had been followed to a well on the Cañada de la Soledad farm in Rodalquilar and was seen removing something before being stopped by Guardia Civil officers who made the shocking discovery.
And according to Spanish media, after two hours of interrogation, the 43-year-old woman confessed to killing Gabriel with the blunt part of an axe during an argument with the child before suffocating him.
She also reportedly confirmed to police that she had acted alone during the crime.
In a story that gripped the nation and most of Europe, Gabriel Cruz Ramirez went missing in the small town of Las Hortichuelas on February 27.
He had left his grandmother’s house aiming for a friend’s house just 100 metres away but never made it and was found 12 days later.
On Tuesday, thousands of people turned out for Gabriel’s funeral at Almeria’s Cathedral de Encarnacion.
The child’s parents, Angel Cruz and Patricia Ramirez were joined by mourners, including Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido and Junta de Andalucia who signed books in support for the family.
During the service, Patricia Ramirez thanked everyone for their support and kind messages throughout the course of the two weeks since her son disappeared.
More than 5,000 people, including professionals and volunteers, were involved in the search for the eight-year-old and Ramirez said she had ‘no words’ to thank everyone.
She said: “I have no words of thanks for all the good deeds from people involved although this has not had a happy ending.
“The little fish is swimming to heaven and I would like all the people to send a fish with a nice word wherever they want.”
Ramirez also added that she did not wish people to talk about the arrested Quezada. “This woman does not deserve to be covered, let us not talk about her,” she added.
