Say hello! Hi!
Angi!
MARÍA ÁNGELES MOLINA "ANGI" WILL HAVE SERVED HER SENTENCE
A FEW MONTHS AFTER THE RELEASE OF THIS DOCUMENTARY SERIES
Angi has been accused of committing the perfect crime.
THE PERFECT CRIME
DOZENS OF PEOPLE TURNED DOWN AN INTERVIEW
She's a killer!
The district attorney is pushing for a 24-year sentence.
She had delusions of grandeur.
She was always a gold digger. She said she wanted to marry rich.
The money was never enough.
She created this fake persona.
Nothing about her was real.
Just thinking about her makes my skin crawl.
KILLER WHO FAKED IDENTITY
WOMAN FOUND DEAD
She had these sinister eyes.
AFTER TWO YEARS OF INVESTIGATION,
WE HAVE GATHERED THE ACCOUNTS NECESSARY TO TELL THIS STORY
Identity theft, huge piles of cash,
fabricated evidence, and murder.
Did you murder Ana Páez because you wanted to obtain money?
She was a master manipulator,
and if you don't know how to spot the signs, you fall for it.
She's a monster. I have a monster at home.
ANGI: FAKE LIFE, TRUE CRIME
On 21st February, 2008, I got a call from the homicide unit.
They said they'd just found a body
in a loft apartment in the Gràcia district.
CAMPRODÓN STREET
It was a tourist apartment, and the person who'd been staying there
was supposed to check out that day
because some new guests were about to arrive.
But the check-out time was 11:00 a.m., and the person hadn't left yet.
At first, I thought it was just some wild, young guy
who was sleeping off his hangover from the night before.
When I came in, the person wasn't moving at all.
And I was like, "Oh, something's off here."
I tried to get his attention. I went, "Hello, hello? Are you okay?"
Still nothing. So I rushed out and called the police.
We went to the address.
The loft apartment was one floor,
with a bedroom raised well above ground level.
On the sofa we found the body…
DEPUTY INSPECTOR JOSEP PORTA
…of a naked woman.
She had a plastic garbage bag over her head,
and it had clearly been sealed tight around her neck with some kind of tape.
MEDICAL-FORENSIC REPORT ON THE REMOVAL OF THE BODY
The apartment had only been rented for a couple of days.
I remember we all agreed it looked too clean.
There were no clothes or bags. The woman had no ID…
…and no signs of external physical trauma.
I remember there were two distinct items that stood out.
A pair of black heeled boots at the foot of the sofa,
and a black wig sitting right by her head.
It looked like maybe it was some kind of sexual choking fantasy that went too far.
They call it "erotic asphyxiation."
When you choke your partner to intensify an orgasm.
As we started to take a closer look,
we found some kind of dried substance on the body,
and obviously we assumed it was semen,
which would support our initial conjecture that the murderer was a man.
It turned out to be semen from two different individuals,
so we sent the samples back to the lab.
INSTITUTE OF FORENSIC MEDICINE OF BARCELONA
When we find a body like that,
the first step is always to identify the victim.
We didn't have much to go on at first.
The only potential source of information was the apartment itself.
So we talked to the landlords,
and eventually we got our hands on a rental contract.
The name on the contract was Ana Páez Capitán.
We ran that name through our database
and found a family that had reported their daughter missing.
They hadn't heard from her since the 19th of that month.
We took a series of photos…
FRONT VIEW OF HEAD OF DECEASED
TOO MUCH TAPE?
…and after consulting the family
and comparing our shots of the crime scene to family pictures,
we were able to confirm that the body found in the loft on Camprodón Street
was their daughter, Ana María Páez Capitán.
Her brother Toni told us he talked to her on that same day, the 19th.
He called her while she was on the train.
She was working in Mataró at that point. But he said she seemed normal.
Yes, I did talk to Ana on the day she disappeared.
She was on the train, leaving Mataró after work,
and said she had plans to meet a friend for dinner.
She said she was excited to show her friend
a nice loft she had just rented.
But she told her partner she was meeting Angi.
A former coworker, Ángeles Molina.
Ana worked for a textile company in Mataró.
And it turned out Angi was her former boss at the company.
WITNESS STATEMENT
We brought her in for questioning.
LAST PERSON WHO SAW ANA PÁEZ ALIVE
We began the interview by telling her we'd found Ana's body in the loft.
Then we asked Angi if she knew her,
since she was one of the last people
to be in contact with Ana before her death.
In her statement, Angi told us they didn't meet up
and they never made any dinner plans.
But she did claim she got a call from Ana, who told her to "play along."
"PLAY ALONG"
She wanted us to think Ana had a double life
and was using her as an alibi.
She thought it was an affair.
She showed us her phone.
Ana had called at 7:55.
María Ángeles said she was on her way back from Zaragoza when Ana called.
She said she went to Zaragoza to collect her mother's ashes,
so we assumed she'd passed away recently.
She was a difficult person to interview.
She'd burst into laughter mid-sentence like the whole thing was a joke to her.
It took two hours to get her statement
'cause it had all these odd twists and turns.
She just kinda made you nervous.
NAME: MARÍA ÁNGELES MOLINA FERNÁNDEZ
SEARCH
Angi lived in a luxury apartment.
FOUR REGISTERED VEHICLES
She had a bunch of fancy cars, including a Porsche.
She always moved in wealthy circles.
THE '80S BARCELONA
Her mom was a housewife who did a little sewing on the side.
And her dad was a taxi driver. They were modest but hardworking people.
She always wanted to leave because she couldn't stand her parents.
I was living in an apartment up on this little hill
when she moved in with me,
and honestly, we got along really well.
I met her at a club in Barcelona.
In those days, the big trend
was to buy a whole bottle of whatever you were drinking.
You could go right up to the bar and order one.
It instantly gave you more status.
You'd be like "I'll have a bottle," and you'd get served right away.
The bottle… brought us together.
Angi was really into luxury.
We'd go out to eat, and she'd order the most expensive thing on the menu.
She always wanted to look like she was rich.
She was all about appearances.
The first time I learned she was in a relationship
was when she showed up in a mink coat and a Cartier bracelet.
I said, "Wow, where did this stuff come from?"
And she told me she was dating this guy and he gave it to her.
It made sense because she was always saying
she wanted to marry a guy who was filthy rich.
That seemed really important to her.
Angi met Juan in the Canary Islands.
Juan managed The Garage,
which was the number one bar in Playa del Inglés,
a tourist hotspot in Maspalomas.
Juan was a stud.
He took care of himself. Didn't smoke or drink.
And he was charming. So charming.
He had style, but he was always a gentleman.
I mean, strong, responsible, easy to trust, and extremely hardworking.
Anything he put his mind to, he could accomplish.
He was very focused. Punctual too. He had it together.
Juan was always man of his word, you know?
Juan!
The bar made between one and two million pesetas,
so around 12,000 euros.
Per day.
The nightlife business can be pretty wild.
Everyone finds their sin, picks their poison. It can be rough.
That's why we were all surprised Juan was such a stand-up guy.
He didn't smoke, didn't drink or do drugs. He was always in good shape.
Everyone knew my brother.
He was in all the sports leagues. He always loved playing soccer.
Juan's most distinct qualities were his smile
and his ability to make friends.
One morning he was leaving The Garage in a taxi,
and he passed an accident on the side of the road.
It was Angi.
He got out right away and took her to the hospital.
It was pure chance that he met her on the side of the road
because of a car accident.
Angi didn't know anyone here in the Canary Islands,
so Juan would visit her in the hospital.
He liked the girl, so he just went every day.
That's how the relationship started.
She told him her father was a prominent judge,
and he was so successful and influential that she didn't have to work.
She'd just get a million pesetas a month from the family trust.
She said her family was very well off.
They had some kind of aristocratic heritage,
and her dad was a judge.
They were traveling back and forth
to see each other for a while.
Then, a few months later,
he called my mom to let her know he'd just gotten married.
Now, obviously, my mom was shocked.
She went dead quiet for a second, then said,
"What are you talking about? Who did you marry?"
The whole thing completely blindsided her.
And Juan just said, "What do you mean who did I marry? Angi!"
They had a wedding on Grand Canary,
but Angi's parents didn't come.
She claimed they didn't think Juan was good enough for a judge's daughter.
No one from her family was there.
It was all Juan's friends and family.
That's pretty odd, right?
Not long after they met Juan called her his girlfriend.
And a few months later, they got married.
Juan bought a house, they moved in, then their daughter came.
I was there during her labor. I filmed it.
Actually, I got really dizzy and overwhelmed
'cause I saw the whole thing and I was trying to hold the camera.
Then I needed the nurses more than she did.
We visited them a lot, to keep an eye on things.
Juan was devoted to her right away. He adored that little girl.
-Happy birthday to you -He was a wonderful father.
Very kind, loving, totally focused on his daughter.
At that time, he was at a high point in his life.
Professionally, financially.
Hey, everyone. How's it going?
This is Angi's closet.
Not sure she has enough shoes. I'm one to talk.
I think she attached herself to Juan
so she could have that lifestyle.
She wanted luxury. She wanted to look like Manolo's wife.
Manolo was Juan's boss at the time.
Angi wanted everything Eli had.
She wanted her life.
Angi really envied her.
Eli had this rich, successful husband,
and Angi felt like she deserved that kind of status.
Grand Canary is a very small community, and we all loved to shop at Loewe.
Eli and Manolo practically owned the place.
One afternoon Eli and I were in the store
when a new salesman mentioned to Eli
that the wife of the owner of The Garage had come in to shop earlier that day.
Me and Eli looked at each other, and Eli said, "Really?"
"What's her name? What's she look like?"
The salesman said, "María Ángeles. She's a redhead."
Eli goes, "Actually, I'm Manolo's wife."
Anyway, we all started laughing, and I cracked some joke like,
"Careful! She's trying to steal your identity."
How's that for foreshadowing?
Their marriage didn't exactly strengthen the family bonds.
I remember Angi was always so rude to my brother's friends.
She'd spread gossip about them, put them down, that kind of thing.
It really bothered Juan.
One day, I was having a barbecue at my house,
and he and Angi came by.
A few minutes after they got there,
Angi went over and started playing with my daughter.
Suddenly, Juan started berating her.
I mean, he was swearing. I won't repeat exactly what he said.
But he kept saying, "Come on."
"Stop messing around for a second and get back over here."
She was very cold.
Always kept her distance and had her guard up around everyone.
She was particular too.
We were out for dinner once, and she said, "I'm not eating this ham."
"The shank obviously wasn't hand-trimmed. Take it back."
She treated everyone like her servants, like she was better than them.
The three of us went to Corte Inglés once
to do some shopping, and she was terrible to me.
We were about to have lunch on the top floor,
and she told me to sit at another table.
Juan put his foot down.
He was like, "How could you ask your friend to do that?"
She said it was 'cause of how I was dressed.
And I have my own sense of style,
but elegance isn't just about how you look, you know?
So, yeah, I felt awful. She made me cry that day.
He was in love, but she was a swindler.
She always got… what she wanted.
My brother always went to our dad for advice.
He was very supportive.
But all he said to Juan was, "Well, if you love her, you love her."
A few years later, Angi called me up one day
and said she moved back to Barcelona.
I said, "Really? Well, why?"
And she said, "I'm moving back because Juan died."
I was like, "What?"
I picked up the phone and Angi just said,
"Your brother's dead."
What are we celebrating today?
-Happy birthday to you -Happy birthday to you
That was such a tragedy. A huge tragedy.
It was incredibly painful,
and our family was never the same after that.
I knew that there were some things that just didn't add up.
She changed in this really dramatic way right after my brother's death.
She tied up her loose ends in the Canary Islands
and went to start a new life in Barcelona.
Everything about that situation seemed unusual to us.
At first, we thought it was just bedroom antics,
but pretty soon we realized something else had happened.
Something criminal.
The rental information included a name and a home address.
GUEST INFORMATION
308 Balmes Street.
When we went to investigate,
there was a married couple who'd been living there for years.
They'd never heard of Ana Páez or anyone like that.
But we also spoke to the doorman at that building,
and he said he'd been receiving letters addressed to Ana María Páez.
Obviously, this piqued our curiosity.
And luckily, the doorman had held on to a few of those letters.
One was a phone bill. I think it was Movistar.
It had an itemized list of charges,
and that's when we saw all the calls to different insurance agencies.
One of the other letters was from a bank,
and it had some information about a loan she'd taken out.
I think it was around 15,000 euros, so not too big.
In those days, you could actually get small personal loans like that
without a guarantor.
Anyway, after looking at the letters, we immediately requested a court order
to tap all the phones associated with Ana Páez.
When we started analyzing the phone calls,
it was clear she was contacting various male sex workers.
We did a little more digging
and found two individuals who remembered a female client
who had requested some…
well, some pretty strange services.
THE DAY ANA PÁEZ WENT MISSING
At around ten one morning,
there was a 600 euro withdrawal from her account.
Problem was, she was at work, but there was no record of her leaving.
At that point,
we decided to contact the bank's security department
and check the footage from their cameras.
One of the cameras
caught a woman coming into the branch with shoulder-length straight black hair.
We noticed she was a carrying a bag on her arm,
and the brand was visible.
The bag very clearly said "Louis Vuitton."
When we showed photographs of the woman
to the people who rented the loft, they recognized her immediately.
She was the one who had made the reservation with a down payment.
We also showed the images to Ana's romantic partner,
but he claimed it wasn't her.
I looked at the photos, and I was like,
"Didn't we take her statement yesterday?"
Carlos said, "It's not Ana, it's Angi."
Exactly. That's Angi.
We had a new suspect. María Ángeles Molina.
It felt like a huge plot twist.
There are always people close to the victim
who want to know if you've made progress in an investigation
or what information you have on a suspect.
But in this case, Ana's partner actually came forward
and suggested that he talk to María Ángeles,
to sort of feel her out, get the lay of the land,
and maybe find out the extent of her involvement in this.
That kind of help is always great. He was cooperative.
So he met up with Angi at a fast-food place.
Obviously, we sent a few of our officers
to stake out the restaurant as a precaution,
and so we could listen in on the conversation.
They talked for a while,
and, basically, he told her the police had shown him some photographs
of a woman walking into a bank to withdraw money from Ana's account.
But he knew it wasn't Ana.
Suddenly, she got really nervous.
Her face went pale. She got up and said she had to leave.
From that point on,
we started to get some real momentum with the investigation.
We followed her all over the place
to see who she was interacting with.
She had a high-end car that was easy to identify.
Was she a good driver?
She was fast.
And I mean fast.
Our cars were way too slow. We couldn't keep up.
Then one day, we'd been tailing her for a while,
and we watched her park
and go into an insurance company on Diagonal Avenue.
She left that one,
got in her Porsche, and drove to a different one.
She did that over and over, ten or twelve times,
making transactions at each one.
150,000 euros here, 150,000 there.
Around a million euros total.
All in the event of Ana Páez's death.
The insurance companies were all along Diagonal Avenue
and more or less equidistant from María Ángeles Molina's residence
and the loft where the body had been found.
We took statements from employees at each company,
and… during one of the interviews, the worker mentioned offhand
that the person who came in earlier
was wearing a wig.
When we first discovered the body, we also found a black wig nearby.
Turns out this was the same wig she put on
when she went to make withdrawals at the bank
or visit the credit union for her loan
or when she took out life-insurance policies
in Ana Páez's name.
Angi and my sister didn't look alike at all.
Even with the wig, it was a hell of a stretch.
So we were really confused
about how she managed to make all these transactions
without these companies realizing it was the wrong person.
She was very stylish. She drove a Porsche.
I guess that bought her some trust.
At that point, we had enough evidence
to charge Angi with identity theft and fraud.
The only question was,
could we make a case for a murder charge too?
ZARAGOZA ALIBI
Her alibi was that trip to Zaragoza.
She said she went to Zaragoza to collect her mother's ashes,
so we assumed she'd passed away recently.
FUNERAL HOME
THE DAY ANA PÁEZ WENT MISSING
We contacted the funeral home,
and they confirmed to us
that María Ángeles had picked up her mother's ashes.
She came to get the ashes in 2008,
but her mother died a whole year earlier.
I thought that was odd.
We requested the data from the automatic tollway devices,
and the Porsche had gone through one on the way to Zaragoza.
But no payment was recorded on the way back.
She must've gone another way.
Barcelona to Zaragoza is 300 kilometers.
The drive is a little less than three hours.
So she had time to go there and back, murder her, and then head home.
BODY FOUND
ZARAGOZA ALIBI
That was enough evidence
to convince a judge to sign off on a search warrant.
So we approached her on the street,
identified ourselves as police officers
and said, "We have a warrant to search your residence."
ENTRY AND SEARCH WARRANT
ANGI'S HOME ADDRESS
There were tons of letters and documents.
Inside, we found a slew of bank statements
and a photocopy of Ana Páez Capitán's ID.
We found a blonde wig.
ONE BLONDE WIG
I remember her walk-in closet,
all her shoes, clothes…
Luxury handbags everywhere.
We thought some of them might be knock-offs.
Right away she said, "No way, they're all real."
She got really defensive about it.
People don't usually act like that when the cops are searching their place.
It was weird. She didn't even flinch.
Here she is, being accused of some very serious crimes,
and she's looking down her nose at us the whole time.
We also found the SIM card and the phone
that had been used to rent the loft on Camprodón Street.
She used that phone to pretend she was Ana Páez.
I remember finding the bottle of chloroform
in one of her closets.
That was a big moment in the search because it seemed to match with the fact
that there were no signs of violence on the body we found
and no signs of a struggle at the crime scene.
Obviously, Ana wouldn't have been able to defend herself
if she'd been incapacitated somehow.
VISUAL INSPECTION
You have to be able to place the suspect at the crime scene.
We found a text from around the time of the murder.
It placed Angi 300 meters away from Camprodón Street.
So she was there.
Around the same time,
our colleagues in the forensics department found something really important.
There was a hair stuck in the interior lining
of the wig we found next to Ana Páez.
We compared that to a sample of Angi's DNA.
The results came back, and it was a match. No question, it had to be Angi's hair.
That DNA test placed our suspect at the scene of the crime.
That explained the homicide,
but, supposedly, the victim recently had intercourse with two men.
That piece of the puzzle was still missing.
ACTUAL VOICE OF WITNESS
She didn't exactly want sex.
It was a little weird.
She said she'd made some kind of bet with some girlfriends
that she'd sleep with a gigolo,
and she had to bring back some of their semen to prove it.
We showed them some photos,
and they identified María Ángeles as the person who hired them.
Of course, the semen we found in the victim's mouth and vagina
belonged to these men.
MATCH
We didn't know who we were dealing with.
IDENTITY THEFT, FRAUD FORGERY, MURDER
That was all the evidence we needed.
Then we arrested her for the murder of Ana Páez.
Angi has been accused of committing the perfect crime,
and her case is shocking.
According to the district attorney, she suffocated a friend
and tried to stage the killing as a rape, implicating two men.
My sister called and said, "Turn on the TV."
All this after stealing her identity
to take out loans and life-insurance policies in her name.
I found out because it was all over the news.
It was everywhere. When they said who did it…
María Ángeles Molina Fernández, aka Angi,
is accused of stealing the identity of her ex-employee Ana María Páez.
Silvia called me and said, "Did you see what happened with Angi?"
That was when all the doubts and misgivings I had about her
really started to make sense.
It was a Pandora's box.
Suddenly all of us who knew her or Juan started to get in touch.
We'd exchange stories and memories about her
that were strange or unsettling.
You know, we had always speculated about her. We had our theories.
She's a monster. I have a monster at home.
It was all very strange. Very strange.
That was a turning point.
I believed… everything about her.
We kept pulling on one thread, and we had no idea what we'd find.
NOVEMBER 23, 1996
Attention all units.
We've received confirmation that a body has been found
in a residence in Maspalomas.
Requesting backup and forensics.
The body has been ID'd as Juan Antonio Álvarez Litben. e'd find.