A Peruvian immigrant has been arrested on suspicion of killing an 80-year-old priest and using his credit card to buy drinks.
An unidentified man, 40, was taken into custody Thursday on suspicion of the priest's death.Alfonso López Benito, a former priest from Valencia, Spain, was known to pay men for sex. According to the Catholic magazine “The Tablet”.
According to the magazine, the man was arrested after using the priest's bank card at a local bar and also possessing the Christian leader's cell phone.
Valencia police believe the fight was between lovers. According to the Telegraph.
Several neighbors told police that the suspect had been in the area for several days before Benito's body was discovered and regularly visited the priest's home, the Tablet newspaper reported.
Police also examined Benito's financial records and found transactions made in the hours before his death, which may indicate he had been threatened, Tablet reported.
Benito was found in bed on Tuesday by a janitor and a friend who had gone to visit him. A subsequent autopsy confirmed that the priest died of suffocation.
The Telegraph reported that there were no signs of forced entry at the home, and police believe Benito allowed the suspected attacker to enter his home.
It turned out that several hours to several days had passed since death.
Friends of the religious man said they received strange text messages from Benito in the week leading up to his body's discovery, telling him he would be leaving town for several days. This led detectives to believe the suspect was trying to cover up the alleged murder, the Tablet reported.
It was later revealed that he had gone to a local bar through the priest's phone and had bought a drink there.
The Archdiocese of Valencia is cooperating with police and is “as interested as anyone in unraveling the circumstances of this death,” the Telegraph said. He also expressed his condolences to Benito's family.
The Tablet reported that the priest's neighbors had complained to the Archdiocese of Valencia about the constant coming and going of men in the priest's apartment.
Benito was known for helping people with problems, including immigrants and ex-convicts. But neighbors claimed he also paid many men for sexual favors.
Following complaints from neighbors, church authorities warned Benito that he could continue to help young people without inviting them to his home.
In one instance, one of the men reportedly became aggressive towards the priest and demanded that he pay money. Police were called to the residence, but Benito refused to press charges, the Tablet reported.
