MADRID: A 44-year-old Pakistani man has been sentenced to 36 years in prison for the murder of his two female landlords and their disabled brother in Spain.
The incident, which occurred in December 2023, took place in the town of Morata de Tajuña, near Madrid. Dalawar Hussain had rented a house owned by two elderly sisters and their disabled brother, all of whom were over 70 years old.
According to local media, the tragic event stemmed from a fake online romance scam in which both sisters became emotionally involved with two American soldiers. The sisters were deceived into believing that one of the soldiers had died, and the other was seeking financial help to inherit a large sum of money.
In the wake of this scam, the sisters borrowed nearly 60,000 euros from Dalawar, which they sent to the scammers. Despite multiple demands for repayment, the debt was never returned. In February 2023, Dalawar attacked one of the women with a hammer, leaving her severely injured. Although he was sentenced to two years in prison for this attack, the sentence was suspended due to it being his first offense.
Upon his release, Dalawar continued to demand repayment of the debt. Finally, in December 2023, he resorted to extreme violence, killing the two elderly sisters and their disabled brother by hitting them with a metal rod. He then attempted to burn the bodies to hide the crime, but was unsuccessful. In the end, he went to the police station and confessed to the murders.
While in custody, police later charged Dalawar with the murder of a Bulgarian cellmate during his detention, and that case is still under investigation.
In October 2025, the court sentenced Dalawar to 20 years in prison for each of the three murders, amounting to a total of 36 years. The court acknowledged that his mental state at the time of the crime may have contributed to his actions, leading to a slightly reduced sentence. The convict has since filed an appeal against the verdict.