Lorraine Williamson
Five men have been arrested over the killing of an American musician whose body was found in an abandoned building in Sagunto, in the Valencian Community, after a long-running Guardia Civil investigation that Spanish media say has now identified the suspected attackers. Cadena SER reported this week that the detainees are aged between 21 and 26, with four Spanish nationals and one Lithuanian, and that the case has been passed to the Court of Instruction No. 4 in Sagunto.
The victim was later identified in Spanish reporting as Djinn Maury, an American street violinist who had been living in the abandoned building where his body was eventually discovered. El Español and Onda Cero both reported that the arrests were carried out in Paterna, Burjassot, and Benicarló, more than a year after the case first came to light.
A case that began with the discovery of a body in an abandoned building
According to Cadena SER and other Spanish reports, the case dates back to 1 April 2025, when a body in an advanced state of decomposition was found inside an abandoned property near the V-23 in Sagunto. Investigators later concluded that the victim had died violently from knife wounds and that the killing had taken place months before the body was discovered.
The investigation was taken over by the Guardia Civil homicide unit, with forensic specialists collecting biological traces from different floors of the building. Cadena SER reported that those traces were key to identifying both the victim and at least one suspect already known to police databases, helping detectives gradually rebuild what had happened.
What investigators believe happened
Spanish reporting says investigators believe the fatal attack took place between the night of 25 January and the early hours of 26 January 2025. Cadena SER reported that one of the alleged attackers was himself injured during the assault and later sought treatment at a health centre before being transferred to hospital, a detail that became an important part of the investigation.
No clear motive has been publicly set out so far, and the men arrested are being treated as alleged participants in the homicide while the judicial process continues. What has changed this week is that investigators appear to have moved the case from an unresolved killing to one with named suspects and coordinated arrests.
A crime story that shocked far beyond Sagunto
The case drew wider attention because Maury was described in Spanish and English reporting as a street musician who made a living playing the violin and had been living in precarious conditions in the abandoned building. That background gave the story a human dimension that set it apart from a routine crime brief, particularly once the victim’s identity became known.
Now, with five arrests made, the focus shifts from the mystery surrounding the killing to what prosecutors and the court can prove. For now, the breakthrough gives investigators their biggest development yet in a case that had remained unresolved for almost a year after the body was found.