Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of an 85-year-old priest who was found dead in his home in Valencia this Tuesday. Monica Torres
Agents from the homicide squad of the Valencia Criminal Police Brigade are investigating the death of the 85-year-old Canon Emeritus of the Cathedral of Valencia, Alfonso López Benito, whose body was found this Tuesday morning in his home in the city center. The man lay clothed in his bedroom and showed signs that he had died of asphyxia several days earlier, according to sources close to the investigation, although other hypotheses were not ruled out. The body was rigid. Officially, the police limited themselves to confirming that they were investigating the religious's death. The investigation is also focusing on the possible use of the canon's cell phone after his death, but confirmation is still pending.
A friend of the priest raised the alarm. He had not heard from him for days and this Tuesday approached the building on Avellanas Street, very close to the Archbishop's Palace of Valencia, as he told this newspaper. No one answered his calls on the other side of the door of the apartment where the deceased lived alone, on the upper floors of the building, property of the archdiocese.
When he received no response, the priest's friend notified the building's doorman, who has a key to the priest's house. When they entered, they both discovered the priest's body and called the police. The bouncer was visibly distressed and declined to make further comments to this newspaper while responding to police inquiries. Some residents of the building said early in the afternoon that they had not heard anything strange or knew anything about the circumstances of their neighbor's death.
A large part of the building is occupied by religious institutions such as the Diocesan Delegation of Misiones, the Catholic Teachers' Association of Valencia or the Ad Gentes Foundation. It is also the headquarters of other groups and law firms and has several private homes. In one of them lived the late canon emeritus, who, according to sources close to the investigation, helped people with various problems.
The Archdiocese of Valencia issued a statement saying it learned of the death of the canon emeritus through the National Police and the media. “We regret this sad death and remain at the disposal of the authorities if the archdiocese's cooperation could help clarify the matter,” the statement said, expressing condolences to the victim's family.
The news of the death came shortly before one o'clock in the afternoon. Agents from the Provincial Police Scientific Brigade and the Judicial Team also traveled to the scene on Avellanas Street to recover the body, which was taken out of the building after two o'clock and loaded into the hearse.
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