A Moroccan man was sentenced for killing the 40-year-old Portuguese woman on 18 September 2022 in Diekirch, a crime he denies. He was also ordered to pay legal fees of €101,000 and damages of €75,000 to the civil party.
The 51-year-old admitted during the trial that he had only helped to dismember the body and dispose of the remains. He claimed that it was in fact his nephew who had murdered the victim. The nephew had allegedly entered into a sham marriage with her and has since fled to Morocco. Investigators, however, did not believe his version. They considered it more plausible that the uncle himself was in a relationship with the victim and committed the murder as he could not accept that she was starting a relationship with another man.
The case drew widespread media attention after Diana Santos’s torso was discovered in Mont-Saint-Martin, France, on 19 September 2022. Around six weeks later, her legs and head were found in Temmels, Germany.
