Singapore woman killed in Spain: suspect’s rented Nissan reportedly seen on CCTV where Audrey Fang’s body found

Another key piece of evidence has emerged as the Spanish Civil Guard continues to build its case against Singaporean Mitchell Ong, the suspect in the killing of compatriot Audrey Fang. A car rented by Ong was caught on closed-circuit television at the location where Fang’s body was found, a Spanish newspaper reported on Wednesday. On April 9, Fang, who was on a solo trip to Spain, left her belongings at her hotel and was never heard from again. According to Spanish online newspaper El Espanol, the chief inspector of the local police division came across the 39-year-old’s body with 30 stab wounds the next day while he was on his way to breakfast at a restaurant near the RM-422 highway in the town of Abanilla. A preliminary autopsy report found that knife wounds and head trauma were the cause of her death, reported Spanish daily La Verdad de Murcia. Ong was arrested in Alicante on April 16 and appeared in court three days later. On Wednesday, La Verdad reported that a CCTV camera captured footage of a grey Nissan Qashqai entering the parking area of the restaurant, Los Collares, at 11.28pm on April 9 via the RM-422 highway. The car stopped by an almond grove and remained in that same spot for 18 minutes until 11.46pm, when it left in the same direction it came from. Fang’s body was found in the grove on April 10. Police traced the Qashqai to a rental company who identified Ong as the person who rented the car on April 3. It was still in his possession at the time of his arrest. The authorities have also obtained footage confirming the route taken by Ong from his hotel in Alicante to Abanilla on April 9. A search by CNA on Google Maps showed that the Los Collares restaurant is about 70km, or an hour’s drive, away from Alicante. According to La Verdad, when Ong was arrested at the Eurostars Lucentum hotel, the Qashqai was parked at a nearby public car park and its keys were found on him. It added that the suspect had bought a vacuum cleaner, with a judge in the Magistrate’s Court of Cieza, which is overseeing the case, noting that it was “very suspicious” that a rental car had to be cleaned. On Tuesday, the newspaper reported that the soles of the €935 (US$1,000) limited edition Nike shoes that were in his hotel room matched footprints found at the crime scene. The Civil Guard has sent a sample of soil found embedded in the soles for laboratory analysis to determine if it matches the soil found on Fang’s body. They are also looking to compare that sample with the sandstone found in the Abanilla area. Court documents seen by La Verdad also detailed other evidence against Ong. The judge noted what the suspect wore on the evening of April 9 when Fang was last seen, and when he returned a few hours later. CCTV cameras at the Eurostars Lucentum hotel where Ong was staying captured the 43-year-old leaving at around 5.45pm while dressed in a hoodie and black pants. He returned to the hotel at around 2.06am on April 10 wearing jeans and a blue jumper. Ong, who got married in 2012 and owned several businesses in Singapore, was due to meet his Ukrainian girlfriend at the same hotel the following day, reported La Verdad. Spanish police have already proven that both Fang’s and Ong’s mobile phones were together in Abanilla on the day she died, according to another newspaper, Levante El Mercantil Valenciano. It added that she was not sexually assaulted and that the two had known each other for many years. The judge said it is inferred “without a doubt” that both Singaporeans were in the same area at the same time on the day the crime was committed, based on data provided by mobile phone operators in Abanilla. Ong is currently remanded in custody, pending investigations, and he will remain in jail due to the seriousness of the offence. He is also considered to be a flight risk. The judge noted that Ong is a Singaporean with no roots in Spain, and has “sufficient economic capacity” to leave the country. Both the prosecutor’s office and the Spanish lawyer hired by Fang’s family, Manuel Martinez, have demanded that Ong’s remand be extended. The report by Levante El Mercantil Valenciano said there might have been an “economic motive” for the killing, adding that Fang had reportedly transferred money to an unidentified third person. Sources also told La Verdad of an “economic motive”, corroborating Levante El Mercantil Valenciano’s report, while adding that she took part in a type of investment fund. However, the possibility that the murder was committed over a sentimental issue has not been ruled out. We’re just very sad and horrified that she was taken in such a horrible way Benjamin Fang, Audrey Fang’s brother While their lawyer in Spain has said that Ong’s trial could take a year or more, the family of Fang are hoping to get more answers over her killing. Speaking to CNA on Monday, her brother and cousin, who flew to Spain to look for her, opened up about their shock upon learning of her killing. They also wanted people to know how “brutal” the killer was, as they described severe damage to her face. “We’re just very sad and horrified that she was taken in such a horrible way,” said her brother, Benjamin Fang, 35. Fang was an architect who worked in a design services company while keeping her late mother’s floral business alive. She had dreamed of retiring early and moving to Bali with her cousin, to live in a home she would personally design. Her body remains in Spain, and can only be repatriated when an English death certificate and embalming certificate have been issued. That is expected to happen sometime this week, they said. Ong’s Instagram account features pictures at raves overseas and of him in various gyms, both in Spain and Singapore. The last picture he posted was of him at a comic store in Alicante. Fang said he had never heard of Ong and did not know what kind of relationship his sister had with the suspect. “It’s still quite ambiguous to us,” he added. “In the meantime, we’re going to ask more friends and family if they’ve seen this person, if they know of any relationship … if anybody knows anything about this guy.” Fang said his father, who is 67, is not taking the news well. “We hope he can get past this as soon as possible,” added Fang. “We still need to receive my sister when she comes home.” Fang will take charge of the family’s floral business and hopes his father can continue working there to occupy his mind. Some of their relatives have also not been able to function properly since hearing about Fang. “They don’t know how to cope with it … It’s something they still can’t grasp,” he said. This story was first published by CNA