Case file
Murder of Diana Quer

Diana María Quer López-Pinel, born 12 April 1998 and from Pozuelo de Alarcón in the Community of Madrid, went missing in the early hours of 22 August 2016 while on holiday with her mother and sister in A Pobra do Caramiñal, Galicia. She had been left by her mother at 10:30 pm to attend a local festival, and her last confirmed location was about a kilometre from home at around 2:50 am. Among her final messages to a friend, she described being followed and called out to by a man. Her disappearance triggered a large-scale investigation and drew extensive national media coverage in Spain.
Police interviewed around 200 local men in their late 30s with criminal records, narrowing the pool to about 80 whose mobile phone data placed them near the scene at the relevant time. One of these individuals was José Enrique Abuín Gey, known as "El Chicle" ("The Chewing Gum"), who had a prior conviction for cocaine dealing and was given a false alibi by his wife. In October 2016, a fisherman recovered Quer's iPhone 6 in nearby Taragoña.
The case remained unsolved for more than a year until the early hours of 25 December 2017, when Abuín attempted to force several young women into his car in nearby Boiro, including trying to force one into the boot at knifepoint. During subsequent interrogation over this attack, he confessed to Quer's killing, stating that he had tied her up, forced her into his car, and strangled her. He directed investigators to her body, found in a well at an abandoned warehouse in Rianxo, roughly 20 kilometres from the site of the original crime and about 200 metres from his own home.
Following a trial in Santiago de Compostela and four days of jury deliberation, Abuín was unanimously found guilty on 17 December 2019 of aggravated murder, kidnapping and sexual assault. He received a life sentence, with the court citing aggravating factors of premeditation, sexual motive and a motive of concealing a prior offence; jurors found a sexual motive proven but cleared him of attempted rape. He was also sentenced to four and a half years for the kidnap and sexual assault of Quer and five years for the attempted kidnap in Boiro, and was ordered to pay compensation to Quer's parents and sister plus legal costs.
Abuín was initially held at the A Lama and Teixeiro prisons in Galicia before being transferred to Villahierro prison near León due to concerns about reprisals linked to his past in the cocaine trade.
Spanish media coverage of the case, including the disappearance and trial, was criticized by some commentators for reflecting "morbid fascination" and sensationalism, including the publication of personal information and rumors about Quer's family and commentary on her lifestyle. Some observers also noted that the intensity of coverage, compared with less-covered contemporaneous cases such as the disappearance of Iván Durán, may reflect disparities in how missing-persons cases involving young women receive media and police attention. In November 2018, a sculpture of Quer was unveiled in a square named after her in her hometown of Pozuelo de Alarcón.
Key facts
- Victims
- Diana Quer
- Date
- 2016
- Location
- A Pobra do Caramiñal, Galicia, Spain
- Case status
- solved
Case timeline
1998-04-12
Diana María Quer López-Pinel is born in the Community of Madrid.
2016-08-22
Diana Quer goes missing in the early hours in A Pobra do Caramiñal, Galicia, after leaving a local festival.
2016-10
A fisherman finds Quer's iPhone 6 in nearby Taragoña.
2017-12-25
José Enrique Abuín Gey attempts to force women into his car in Boiro; during interrogation he confesses to Quer's murder and reveals the location of her body in Rianxo.
2018-11
A sculpture of Diana Quer is unveiled in a square named after her in Pozuelo de Alarcón.
2019-10
Quer's family publicly criticizes the television program Espejo público for broadcasting an alleged 'last photograph' of Diana Quer.
2019-12-17
A jury in Santiago de Compostela finds José Enrique Abuín Gey guilty of aggravated murder, kidnapping and sexual assault; he is sentenced to life imprisonment.
Best coverage
No approved coverage links are attached yet.
People
José Enrique Abuín Gey
CONVICTEDConvicted on 17 December 2019 of aggravated murder, kidnapping and sexual assault of Diana Quer, and sentenced to life imprisonment; also convicted for a related attempted kidnapping in Boiro.
Diana Quer
VICTIM18-year-old victim of kidnapping, sexual assault and murder in A Pobra do Caramiñal, Galicia.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- Diana Quer, 18, disappeared in August 2016 from A Pobra do Caramiñal, Galicia. In December 2017, José Enrique Abuín Gey ("El Chicle") confessed to her kidnapping, sexual assault and murder while being questioned over a separate attack, and led police to her body. He was convicted in December 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
- Where did the murder happen?
- A Pobra do Caramiñal, Galicia, Spain.
- Who was convicted?
- José Enrique Abuín Gey (Convicted on 17 December 2019 of aggravated murder, kidnapping and sexual assault of Diana Quer, and sentenced to life imprisonment; also convicted for a related attempted kidnapping in Boiro.).
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.
Sources
- ENCYCLOPEDICMurder of Diana QuerWikipedia · 2026-07-07
- PRESSContemporaneous coverage — lavanguardia.comlavanguardia.com · 2026-07-07
- PRESSContemporaneous coverage — elmundo.eselmundo.es · 2026-07-07
Record history
- First published
- JUL 07, 2026
- Last verified against sources
- JUL 07, 2026





