82-year-old tortured and murdered in Palma flat

Police are searching for a possible two people in connection with the suspected torture and murder of 82-year-old car rental pioneer Pedro Estarellas Bibiloni at his Palma home on Thursday night. The Majorcan car hire industry, friends and the 82-year-old widower's family were left stunned and distraught by the brutal killing which police sources say happened between 11pm on Thursday night and 1am yesterday morning. The body was found yesterday morning at his home above his Autos Estarellas car hire office just 50 metres down the street from the National Police headquarters by one of his nieces, a lawyer, whose office is near the scene of the crime. Maria Antonia Covas Estarellas thought it suspicious that her grandfather had not opened the garage and office for business as usual and when she opened the front door to the victim's flat was faced with the scene of disorder. She rushed out into the street in a severe state of nerves to alert the police who located the body. Sources close to the investigation said that statements taken from neighbours have given police an indication to the time of the murder as some of the other residents in the apartment block did report having heard noises and footsteps in the victim's flat which is on the first floor. Police also believe that two people may have been involved due to the number of footsteps reported by neighbours who unfortunately did not think anything of the noise at the time. Furthermore, police are quite confident that the victim knew the attackers because the front door to the flat had not been forced open. But had the victim opened the door to his murderers, no sooner had they entered the flat they apparently hit the 82-year-old in the head with the door, fracturing his jaw and knocking out his false teeth which were found on the floor. Once in the property, the elderly man was seated and bound to a chair with a belt in the kitchen where it is thought he was tortured before being stabbed in the back. Police first at the scene found stains and traces of blood all over the apartment leading the police to suspect that, before killing their victim, he was forced to hunt around the house for money and valuable objects. It is believed that the bleeding victim was dragged into every room of the house in the hunt for valuables. However, the police have been as yet unable to ascertain how much money or which valuable items the armed robbers escaped with. Forensic experts have already carried out a first inspection of the property looking for fingerprints and any other clues to the killer or killers.