Macabre discovery at a former police officer's home in El Salvador: the bodies of 7 women and 3 children found buried

 Steph Deschamps / May 15, 2021

Forensic investigators in El Salvador, Central America, made a gruesome discovery at the property of a former police officer. Ten bodies - seven women and three children - were buried.

The former police officer is suspected of sex crimes and thirteen murders, reported the Salvadoran justice. The 51-year-old man was arrested Saturday for the murder of two women. Police gave no further explanation as to why the man is suspected of a total of 13 murders.

Neighbors of the former police officer in the city of Chalchuapa had called the police after hearing women screaming for help. In the house, police found the bodies of a 57-year-old woman and her 26-year-old daughter.

Both women were lying in a pool of blood and showed signs of sexual assault. Following the discovery, investigators decided to start digging around the house, and the bodies of a 7-year-old girl and two boys aged 2 and 9 respectively were found, among others. Some of the victims appear to have been killed already two years ago, the prosecution said on Twitter.

Seven other potential graves are under investigation. There are currently 25 missing persons in the vicinity of the former officer's home. The suspect was fired in 2005 for sexually aggressive behavior and served five years in prison. The man is believed to be a psychopath and the perpetrator of several murders, according to the Salvadoran Minister of Security. Ten other people have been arrested, suspected of being sponsors or accomplices.