Learn Real Spanish with This Shocking Story

By Lucia Published: February 25, 2026

16 min video

A memorable story gives you context for new Spanish expressions. Follow Lucía’s narration, listen for the turning points, and use the story to practise comprehension.

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Try it yourself

Listen once for the overall story. On a second pass, note three useful expressions and retell the main events in your own Spanish sentences.

Watch the original lesson on YouTube.

Selected listening excerpts, vocabulary and case notes

Use these chapters to follow Lucía’s Spanish true-crime narration about Marta del Castillo. The passages below are selected, lightly edited listening excerpts with contextual English translations, not a full verbatim transcript. The vocabulary list covers the video’s displayed learning words. A statement made in an investigation is not automatically a proven fact: several descriptions in this recording differ from the court records, so the clearly labelled case notes give the necessary distinctions. The recording is a language lesson and historical account, not a current case update.

0:00 — The disappearance and the listening exercise

Spanish listening excerpt: Sevilla, 24 de enero de 2009, una tarde fría de invierno en el sur de España. Marta del Castillo, una joven de diecisiete años, sale de su casa. Promete no volver tarde, pero Marta nunca regresó.

English: Seville, 24 January 2009, a cold winter afternoon in southern Spain. Marta del Castillo, a seventeen-year-old girl, leaves home. She promises not to return late, but she never comes back.

Spanish listening excerpt: Hoy os voy a contar una historia de crimen real que sucedió en España para que aprendáis español de manera natural. El vocabulario más complicado os lo escribiré aquí arriba con su traducción al inglés para que no os perdáis en la historia. Podéis activar subtítulos en inglés o en español en los ajustes.

English: Today I’m going to tell you a true-crime story from Spain so you can learn Spanish naturally. I’ll put the more difficult vocabulary up here with its English translation so you don’t lose track of the story. You can turn on English or Spanish subtitles in the settings.

0:54 — Family, routines and unanswered calls

Chapter context: Listen for the description of Marta’s family, the arrangement to return by eleven, and the missed-call signal she used to reassure her parents. The narrator then recounts the unanswered calls and the family’s concern.

Spanish listening excerpt: Tenía un sistema para que sus padres estuvieran tranquilos: les hacía una perdida, una llamada perdida, para que supiesen que estaba bien. Pero esa tarde no recibieron ninguna llamada de Marta. Los padres, extrañados, llamaron al móvil de Marta varias veces, pero no contestó.

English: She had a system to reassure her parents: she gave them a missed call so they would know she was okay. But that afternoon they received no call from Marta. Puzzled, her parents called her mobile several times, but she did not answer.

2:30 — Accounts that do not add up

Chapter context: The narration compares what the family was told on the telephone and describes her father going to the flat. Keep reported statements separate from independently established events.

Spanish listening excerpt: Nada cuadra. El padre de Marta, Antonio, se acerca al piso de Miguel y mira por la ventana, pero están las persianas bajadas, las luces apagadas y parece que no hay nadie. Da porrazos en las ventanas, pero nadie abre.

English: Nothing adds up. Marta’s father, Antonio, goes to Miguel’s flat and looks through the window, but the blinds are down, the lights are off and it seems nobody is there. He bangs on the windows, but nobody opens up.

3:34 — Reporting and the family’s search

Spanish listening excerpt: Los padres de Marta, ya muy nerviosos, deciden ir a la policía a poner una denuncia a las dos de la madrugada. Entonces los padres y los amigos de Marta se organizan para buscar a Marta esa madrugada y van con varios coches por Sevilla.

English: Marta’s parents, by now very worried, decide to go to the police to file a report at two in the morning. Her parents and friends organise a search in the early hours, driving around Seville in several cars.

Case note — reporting a disappearance: The narrator describes a delay in the response to this historical case. Do not take that as a waiting rule: the Spanish Interior Ministry says there is no precautionary waiting period before reporting a disappearance. Source: Spanish Interior Ministry / CNDES: reporting a disappearance.

Chapter context: The video continues with visits to the flat, the smell of bleach and background about who lived there. At 5:11, Lucía reassures you that the complicated story itself can be hard to follow.

Spanish listening excerpt: Si no os enteráis bien, no es porque no entendáis bien el español, sino porque esta historia tiene tela. Preparaos.

English: If you’re not following everything, it isn’t because you don’t understand Spanish well; it’s because this story is complicated. Get ready.

5:54 — Police searches and evidence

Chapter context: The narrator moves from neighbours’ accounts to a police visit, family searches, forensic examination, blood traces, DNA and questioning. These are investigative details; a person’s DNA or being questioned does not by itself establish that person’s guilt.

Spanish listening excerpt: Los amigos y familiares de Marta siguieron organizando búsquedas por toda la ciudad. Cinco días después, Marta sigue sin aparecer y es entonces cuando por fin entra la policía científica en escena y va al piso a hacer una inspección, a buscar y analizar pruebas.

English: Marta’s friends and relatives kept organising searches throughout the city. Five days later, Marta still has not appeared, and that is when the forensic police come into the story and inspect the flat, looking for and analysing evidence.

7:32 — A confession and changing versions

Spanish listening excerpt: Esta es la primera declaración, porque luego hizo muchas más, todas distintas y cambiando la versión de los hechos. Seguid escuchando porque todo es muy fuerte.

English: This is the first statement, because he later made many more, all different and changing his account of the events. Keep listening, because it is all very shocking.

Case note — confessions and proven facts: The source recounts several incompatible statements, including accusations against other people. Treat those as attributed versions. The 2012 judgment found Miguel Carcaño guilty of murder; it did not establish every detail of his changing accounts as fact. The same judgment acquitted Samuel Benítez, Francisco Javier Delgado and María García of the charges before that adult court. Source: Seville court judgment, January 2012, facts and ruling.

Chapter context: The recording describes the family’s reaction and then briefly points you to the free Spanish study guide in the video description or QR code. The mother’s reported relief is a personal reaction; it should not be treated as an independently established medical assessment of suffering.

9:08 — River searches and further statements

Spanish listening excerpt: Entonces comenzó la búsqueda del cuerpo en el río Guadalquivir: un despliegue enorme de la policía y los militares por distintas partes del río. Pero los buzos lo tenían muy difícil porque había muy poca visibilidad y además el río tiene mucho caudal y hay mucha corriente. No encontraron nada.

English: The search for the body then began in the Guadalquivir River: a huge deployment of police and military personnel along different stretches of the river. The divers had great difficulty because visibility was poor, the river had a large flow and the current was strong. They found nothing.

Chapter context: Next, the video recounts another person’s statement, an arrest and a change of version that led to searches at a landfill.

Case note — pretrial detention: At about 10:02 the video says Miguel’s brother spent two months in pretrial detention. The original judgment records 16 February to 20 May 2009, approximately three months. Source: Seville court judgment, January 2012, procedural history.

10:09 — A new version and court procedure

Spanish listening excerpt: En ese momento Miguel Carcaño dice que quiere dar una nueva versión de los hechos, que había mentido en la anterior declaración. Aquí hay cosas que no encajan. ¿Y por qué cuenta esto ahora?

English: At that point Miguel Carcaño says he wants to give a new account of the events and that he had lied in his previous statement. There are things here that do not fit. Why is he saying this now?

Chapter context: The narrator discusses allegations of sexual assault, further statements, lawyers and the choice of trial procedure. An allegation described in a confession is not a finding of guilt.

Case note — juries and evidence: The video’s blanket claim that sexual offences cannot be heard by a jury is too broad. Sexual offences are not standalone offences listed in article 1 of Spain’s Jury Act, but articles 5.2 and 5.3 also govern connected offences and a single act constituting several offences. A jury verdict is also governed by evidence and law; public hostility does not determine guilt, and professional judges are not the only decision-makers required to assess evidence. Source: Spanish Jury Act, articles 1, 3 and 5.

Case note — María’s statement: The claim at about 12:41 that María’s account of studying was obviously false conflicts with the 2012 judgment: its proven facts record her studying from about 00:15 to 02:01. She was acquitted. An unverified explanation involving personal connections is omitted from these selected excerpts. Source: Seville court judgment, January 2012, proven facts and ruling.

12:56 — The two trials and the precise outcomes

Spanish listening excerpt: Hubo dos juicios: uno para el menor de edad, el Cuco, y otro para los mayores de edad. En el primer juicio el Cuco lo negó absolutamente todo y dijo que había mentido porque lo habían presionado.

English: There were two trials: one for the minor, El Cuco, and another for the adults. In the first trial El Cuco denied everything and said he had lied because he had been pressured.

Case note — the juvenile measure: The 2011 ruling convicted El Cuco of concealment, not murder or sexual assault. The three-year measure comprised two years and eleven months in closed detention followed by one month of supervised release. The absence of a recovered body does not by itself make a murder conviction impossible; Miguel was convicted in this same case. Source: Seville juvenile appeal judgment, October 2011, ruling, Seville adult court judgment, January 2012, ruling.

Case note — Miguel’s sentence: The adult court imposed twenty years for murder in 2012. In 2013 the Supreme Court added one year and three months for an offence against the family’s moral integrity, making twenty-one years and three months in total, rather than exactly twenty-one years. Source: Spanish Supreme Court judgment, January 2013, ruling.

Case note — concealment and relatives: The reference to a relative having a general “right” to cover up a crime is too broad. Penal Code article 454 provides a specific exemption from punishment for certain relatives in concealment cases, with an express exception for article 451.1; it is not permission to participate in murder or any criminal act. Source: Spanish Penal Code, articles 451 and 454.

13:58 — Later claims, opinions and remaining questions

Chapter context: The final part recounts another accusation made by Miguel, Lucía’s own opinion about that version, the family’s continuing search as described at the time of recording, and the father’s attempts to obtain information. These later accusations and the speaker’s suspicions are not convictions or established findings against an acquitted person.

Spanish listening excerpt: Después Miguel ha vuelto a cambiar su declaración varias veces.

English: Afterwards Miguel changed his statement again several times.

Case note — uncertainty and future dates: Uncertainty about the body’s whereabouts and disputed later versions should be distinguished from the murder conviction that was established. The video’s prediction of release in 2030 is not presented here as a verified or guaranteed release date. This listening companion does not provide a current investigation update.

15:05 — The documentary recommendation and closing

Spanish listening excerpt: Hay muchos detalles más sobre esta historia. Os recomiendo un documental que hay en Netflix que se llama «¿Dónde está Marta?». Los españoles sentimos mucha pena por Marta y su familia y ojalá se encuentre el cuerpo y puedan descansar en paz.

English: There are many more details to this story. I recommend a Netflix documentary called Where Is Marta? We Spaniards feel great sorrow for Marta and her family, and hope the body will be found so they can find peace.

Case note — the documentary: The recommendation refers to Netflix’s 2021 documentary miniseries ¿Dónde está Marta? Its official page identifies the programme; viewing availability depends on your country and account. Source: Netflix: ¿Dónde está Marta?.

Spanish listening excerpt: ¿Conocíais este caso? ¿Qué os parece a vosotros? Dejádmelo en los comentarios en español, ¿vale?, para que practiquéis español. Si has entendido la historia, enhorabuena: has seguido una narración larga en español con vocabulario avanzado. Si quieres seguir mejorando tu español, aquí tienes una lista de videoblogs cien por cien en español para que te diviertas conmigo mientras aprendes este idioma. Nos vemos aquí.

English: Did you know about this case? What do you think? Tell me in the comments in Spanish so you can practise. If you understood the story, congratulations: you followed a long Spanish narration with advanced vocabulary. To keep improving, here is a playlist of vlogs entirely in Spanish so you can have fun with me while learning. See you here.

Vocabulary displayed in the video

These contextual translations cover the displayed learning words. They explain language; an investigative term or an allegation does not establish a person’s guilt.

0:35 — perderseto get lost; here, to lose track of the story
0:43 — dolorosopainful
0:49 — los ajustessettings
1:29 — extrañado/asurprised; puzzled
1:43 — el portalbuilding entrance
2:11 — llamada perdidamissed call
2:27 — apagado/aturned off
3:01 — mentirto lie
3:17 — la esquinacorner
3:19 — cuadrarto add up; to make sense
3:27 — las persianasblinds; shutters
3:31 — el porrazoa hard blow; loud banging here
3:41 — la denunciareport to the police
3:59 — la madrugadaearly hours of the morning
4:15 — la lejíableach
4:25 — desencajado/adistressed; altered in appearance, of a face here
4:29 — contacto visualeye contact
4:47 — heredarto inherit
4:53 — la silla de ruedaswheelchair
5:01 — rehipotecarto remortgage
5:19 — tener telato be complicated or quite something, colloquially here
5:23 — la comisaríapolice station
5:47 — el bultobulky object; bundle
6:03 — el homicidiohomicide
6:21 — revisarto check; to review
6:29 — la búsquedasearch
6:51 — las pruebasevidence, in this investigation
6:53 — certificarto certify; to confirm officially
7:01 — salpicarto spatter; to splash
7:13 — el ADNDNA
7:21 — interrogarto question; to interrogate
7:25 — pinchar un teléfonoto tap a phone
7:29 — la manifestacióndemonstration; public protest
7:35 — confesarto confess
7:47 — el ceniceroashtray
7:49 — desplomarseto collapse
7:53 — el pulsopulse
8:07 — deshacerse deto get rid of
8:09 — enrollarto roll up; to wrap around
8:23 — arma homicidamurder weapon
8:27 — la declaraciónstatement; testimony
8:31 — los hechosevents; facts
8:41 — destrozado/adevastated
8:47 — sufrirto suffer
9:13 — el desplieguedeployment; large-scale operation here
9:19 — el buzodiver
9:25 — el caudalwater flow; volume flowing in a river
9:41 — la cabina de teléfonophone booth
9:59 — hacer dañoto cause harm; to hurt
10:01 — detenerto arrest, in this context
10:05 — la cárcelprison; jail
10:29 — la amenazathreat
10:37 — la navajapocket knife
10:41 — atarto tie; to tie up
10:43 — estrangularto strangle
10:51 — el contenedor (de basura)rubbish container
11:19 — el juezjudge
11:23 — el juzgadocourt
11:42 — violaciónrape
11:49 — asesorado/aadvised
11:51 — el abogadolawyer
12:05 — el asesinomurderer
12:13 — culpableguilty
12:23 — ceñirse a algoto stick strictly to something
12:31 — la alcantarillasewer
12:49 — político/apolitician, as a noun
12:53 — la tramaplot
12:59 — el juiciotrial
13:17 — negarto deny
13:23 — presionarto put pressure on
13:27 — condenarto convict; to sentence
13:45 — absuelto/aacquitted
13:49 — encubrirto cover up; to conceal
14:15 — la cuotainstalment; payment here
14:21 — mediarto mediate; to intervene
14:27 — seguratasecurity guard, colloquial
14:29 — la culatagun butt
14:35 — la cabeza pensantemastermind; person directing things
14:37 — amenazado/athreatened
15:17 — la penasorrow, in sentir pena here

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