When murdering someone, the murderer may leave the deceased body of their victims in one piece, or eliminate it altogether.
But in this case, in the murder of a cryptocurrency millionaire and online influencer, the murderer chose to cut the remains to several pieces in such a gruesome way, to then put everything into a red suitcase, before disposing them.
This name was Fernando Pérez Algaba, and his body was found by a group of children in the town of Ingeniero Budge in Argentina over the weekend, near a stream away from the crowd.
When the remains were found, only his forearms and legs were inside the suitcase. At that time, the police couldn't identify him. But after the police launched an investigation, more of his remains were found.
His complete arms, for example, were found after the police pumped out some of the water out the stream.
Algaba was also known by the nickname 'Lechuga' (Lettuce), was later identified by his fingerprints and his distinctive tattoos on his torso, which was found with his head a few days later.
When the police searched Algaba's house, the police grew suspicious, because they could not find his phone or wallet.
According to the landowner, Algaba had rented her apartment for only a week. He was supposed to hand over the keys on 19 July but failed to show up.
Algaba has reportedly posted cryptic messages on social media about "evil people" who repaid kindness with hate.
"It's incredible how there are such evil people in the world that while you're thinking of helping them, they're thinking of destroying you."
It's reported that he received threat messages in the week before he was killed.
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"I’m going to kill you, I’m going to do something worse to you," a man said in a menacing voice message to Algaba before he vanished. "I’m going to gouge out your eyes and cut off your hands so that you can’t have any more money in your life."
"I swear on my children that I have no problem going to jail," said the man, who was identified only by his surname Iglesias, according to Argentinian news outlet.
Additional voicemails Iglesias left for Algaba, include one that lasted a full 20 minutes, where he tells the influencer that the two must "see each other face to face."
“You betrayed me, and you caught me. I have a poison with you that I hate you,” Iglesias said in another message.
Another man identified as Adrian Tesei told Algaba separately that the two had an issue because an investor told Tesei his money had been delivered when it wasn’t.
“I’m not threatening you,” Tesei told Algaba.
“I’m telling you that I’m going to rip off your head. The money is mine, and you don’t play with mine.”
The first person detained, is a transgender woman, who allegedly stole the suitcase containing PérezAlgaba's remains.
This individual’s residence is situated close to the site of the discovery.
Fernando Pérez Algaba lived in Barcelona, Spain, before reportedly staying in Argentina for about week prior to his alleged murder.
He left his home country after sending his mother a message, saying that he "needed to clear my head as always."
"And from here, I am realising two things: that we can't escape from problems and that problems will follow us," he said.
It's said that Algaba started working at the age of 14, and was used to sell sandwiches and deliver pizzas in his hometown before buying vehicles to repair and resell.
He was living a modest life, and struggled to make ends meet, before 10 years later, his cryptocurrency investments had changed the way he sees life.
As an influencer, he frequently flashed his wealth and his luxurious lifestyle.
Algaba was also a founder of a vehicle-renting company, where he rented luxury cars and jet skis.
Algaba, who had about a million followers on Instagram, is said to have have made millions of dollars from his investment and business.
In other words, Algaba had a rags-to-riches backstory.
However, his death made it seem that his investment and/or business might be related to fraud and/or pyramid, Ponzi scheme.
Algaba had been reported missing on July 18.
He was missing for at least 5 days, before he was discovered on July 23.
According to an autopsy conducted on his remains, it's revealed that Algaba had been shot three times. And it was after he was dead, that his body was dismembered.
The police found that his body parts were cleanly amputated, suggesting that it was done by a cold-blooded professional, local media reported.
At first, it was suggested that Algaba was murdered because of an alleged debt caused by his gambling addiction.
According to some reports, Algaba had racked up “irrecoverable” debts with Argentina’s tax agency and ran into trouble with a notorious local gang, which demanded $40,000.
Algaba also owed Iglesias’ son $70,000 that he wanted back, according to the report.
It's said that Algaba was piling up debts during COVID-19 pandemic, the time when he kept on buying up cryptocurrencies.
Besides that, it's also said that Algaba left a note, claiming that he had also lost a lot of money investing in the digital coins.
"If something happens to me, everyone is already warned," he wrote in a message.
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According to Algaba’s brother, Rodolfo Pérez Algaba, he wasn’t sure if his deceased sibling was involved with the criminal ring.
He insisted that he was “not a scammer,” as many had allegedly claimed.
The victim’s brother claimed that Algaba was simply a car salesman who "did not do well" in Bitcoin.
The brother said that Algaba went to became a businessman using the money inherited from their father when he died.
According to the brother, who reportedly lost contact with his deceased brother for three months following an argument, claimed that Algaba "was under psychiatric treatment for an anxiety disorder."
But as a brother, he ultimately hopes that authorities can apprehend his sibling’s killer.
"I’ve been here for three days and hardly sleep, thinking, breaking my head, how could this happen," he said. "But I’m not going to sit still, I’m not going to do justice with my own hands, but I hope that justice will be done."
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