Latest news Infanticide in Spain: Suspect probably mentally ill

Following the killing of an eleven-year-old boy on a football pitch in Spain, investigators say there are many indications that the suspect is mentally ill. The arrested man confessed to the crime during police questioning, reported the TV station RTVE and other media, citing investigators.

He testified that he had experienced the crime as if it had been committed by another person. He had spoken of "a copy of me", they said. The 20-year-old was arrested on Monday in Mocejón near Toledo.

On Sunday, a masked man stabbed young Mateo to death in front of the victim's playmates and other people in the town of Mocejón, which is around 60 kilometers southwest of Madrid and has a population of just under 500. The perpetrator had suddenly appeared on the playing field and stabbed the boy with a sharp object. When paramedics arrived, the boy had already suffered a cardiac arrest. He could not be resuscitated. A manhunt was launched for the perpetrator. The motive for the act of violence remained unclear.

The suspect's father told the media that his son had been diagnosed with a 70 percent mental impairment. Neighbors said on Spanish television: "You could see that the boy was not normal. But nobody expected anything like this".

The case caused outrage and deep shock across the country. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez spoke on Platform X of a "terrible crime" and of "unimaginable suffering". Three days of mourning were declared in Mocejón.