Ricardo Capparelli was 77 years old on June 14th, the day he flew from Argentina to Malaga airport. He was there to take a trip his daughter had planned for him. He wanted to travel Andalusia and to disconnect for 15 days from his life as a caregiver. This was in order to take care of his wife who has Alzheimer’s.
The trip that started in Malaga must have ended in Marbella today. The second stop of the tour was a disaster. Ricardo was badly hurt when he left Nerja and had to drive to Granada. However, he became unwell while climbing a hill of the Alhambra. He ended up being admitted to hospital. They discovered that Ricardo had 12 broken ribs, pneumothorax, and a severe pleural effusion. He was also positive for Covid-19. He died hours later.
But… What happened to Ricardo Caparelli really? Sole and Facundo, his children, are trying to find the truth. They took the first plane from Mar del Plata (the Argentine city where their family lives) and traveled to Malaga in order to recover their father’s mortal remains and investigate the incident. Two witnesses have been identified who spoke to him during his final hours. They confirmed to SUR that he told them both that he was attacked and they stole his watch and mobile phone. “I believe he was beaten, and that he kept it from us to not worry us. She affirms that her father was like this, he always considered others more than himself.
Sole, his daughter, organized the entire trip. / south
This was exactly what drove the trip. He was nicknamed “El Gallego” (he was a descendant from Vigo and Italian migrants) and he grew to be a Mar del Plata native, where he met his future wife, at the tender age of 17. Since then, they have not separated. Nor has the early illness that erased her memory. He said that the last five years have been very difficult and exhausting. They were both in their final days, which was a shock to me. My father said that he would never take her to a nursing facility, but she says that this was not true.
Ricardo had worked as a contractor in dry construction materials and was now a father. His daughter, Ricardo, hired a team to assist him with his wife’s care. Six or seven months ago, he started to live again. He started to play golf with a friend and went to lunch at the Nautical club every day.
Ricardo was passionate about sailing. Ricardo was the Argentine champion in J / 24, a fixed keel sailboat modality, in which he competed in a world championship. Today, condolences and messages of encouragement continue to accumulate on the club’s facebook page. He was a very dear friend. A friend from Barcelona suggested that he and his grandson travel to Qatar for the World Cup. He told his daughter, “December is far away. I want to leave now.”
Sole organised him a “dream vacation” through Andalusia. He also added that he was given the “as much as he deserved”. Sole gave him a folder containing all the reservation documents as well as an excel file to help him remember what he needed at each stop. He was greeted by a family friend at Malaga airport. She brought with her her first surprise, a convertible Mini Cooper, which is her favorite car.
<>. He stayed at the Only You Hotel. She Sole had reserved a table on the terrace for him to celebrate her birthday. After a few days, she moved to Nerja. This was the second stop along the journey.
He was given a suite overlooking Burriana Beach by the Paraiso del Mar Hotel. Ricardo left his bag in his room and ordered water from the bar. He then went for a walk around Nerja looking for dinner spots. He was not seen again in the establishment until the morning when he returned to the reception to check-out. Gustavo Caro, the receptionist, said that it took him some time to get out.
Ricardo arrived at the reception carrying his bag. He was serious. He sat down on the couch and explained briefly to me what had happened. He said that he didn’t have his belongings because of his belief that he was assaulted that night, that he had spent 2 hours unconscious on the ground, and that his watch and cell phone had been stolen. He wanted me to call his family in Argentina, so I gave him my cell number. He didn’t remember the number of his son. He tried several times but couldn’t catch. Facundo also suggests that he may have called the wrong number.
Because his ribs were aching, he sat down on the couch for a while. Ricardo refused to report to the doctor. The receptionist suggested that he go to the doctor to report his injuries. I was shocked by his lack of forcefulness in his expressions. Gustavo says that he believes Ricardo did not know what had happened or how serious it was.
This is how he could have driven the 93 km that separate Nerja and Granada. Thanks to the ’tickets,’ which she found in her parents’ belongings, her daughter was able to reconstruct the steps she took to get to the city. She is certain that she left her Mini in a parking lot and moved to Paseo de los Tristes, as she advised, because she had reserved an area there.
Domingo Spain was leaving Murcia on Friday, June 17. He remembered to empty the trash so it wouldn’t stink all weekend. It would be past four in afternoon. I opened the gate to find him sitting there. I asked him: What are you looking for? He said, “I believe I’m lost.” He recalls that he rented an apartment at the Mirador de Los Arcos.
Domingo said he had the key next to his house and asked why Domingo hadn’t called the agency. He told me his watch and phone had been stolen. I returned from the dumpster and offered to call the agency to have it picked up. I said to him that he should come in (there’s an interior patio) and take a seat in the shade. It was very hot, he continued. I set up a chair and offered him water.
They began to chat for a while and Ricardo shared with her what had happened in his final hours of life. He told me they had hit him and left him unconscious. When he regained consciousness, Ricardo realized that he’d been robbed. I suggested to him that he buy a cell phone from me. We said our goodbyes and he waited with his suitcase while awaiting the agency. Domingo says that he wished him all the best. “I didn’t hear from him again,” says Domingo. This is where I learned the good news. I was shocked. I was really saddened by his actions.”
Ricardo booked a tour to the Alhambra in Granada. After the first section of the visit, he complained of heat and fatigue. His guide told him he couldn’t continue the visit. She asked workers at Puerta del Vino to allow him to stay inside, as there was air conditioning.
According to Sole, Ricardo was already “very bad” when he saw him again after completing the tour. Ricardo informed her that she had been hurt in a fall and would not be continuing with the excursion. He asked if Ricardo had been to a doctor and she replied that she would be seeing him the next day. The answer was not convincing so she called the Red Cross to have them attend to him. She recalls, “I literally forced him.”
Ricardo spent his final hours in the Alhambra, Granada. / south
Ricardo was taken to the San Cecilio University Clinical Hospital’s emergency room. He told them, although it was not clear why, that Ricardo had fallen into a water well despite having almost no injuries to his legs. He was also infected by Covid and had multiple rib fractures, liver damage, and pneumothorax. Although they were able to stabilize him, his condition worsened. He died on the 19th at 3:15 AM.
SUR was able to access the medical report which states that he died from “hemorrhagic stroke secondary to massive trauma hemothorax in an untreated patient.” The report also indicates that there was not an autopsy request. Yesterday, the newspaper reached out to the hospital in Granada to inquire if a clinical or judicial autopsy -in Granada’s Institute of Legal Medicine – had been performed. There has been no response.
Sole didn’t always get along with her father. She wanted to be able to relax and enjoy the trip as she does when she is on vacation. She lived the experience completely without a smartphone. Facundo, her brother, told her that her phone had been stolen. Sole discovered the truth through an email she received. It reads: “Hello Ricardo. We know you are in hospital, but we need to enter your apartment …>>to take your belongings.”
“I didn’t understand anything. My brother believed there was a cat locked up, and that it could be a virtual abduction. There are many in Argentina. It was alarming. I began to search for hospitals in Granada and called them one by one. I remembered I had booked the travel assistance service. They knew the location of his father.
They heard about Ricardo’s passing as they raced to catch the next flight from Spain. Sole now seeks an explanation for Ricardo’s unpredictable behavior. He was very concerned about the well-being of his children, and didn’t want us to know. He claimed that he had fallen but doctors determined that this was impossible due to his injuries. He says that they beat him up.
Maybe that’s why he feels the need for investigation into what happened to him. Because he knows that he has a “social obligation” to ensure that no one is ever hurt again, he does so. They have started to recreate what Ricardo did in Nerja with the help of his brother. To find out where Ricardo has been eating, I’ve visited every restaurant that had his photo on it. Finally, I was able to recognize him and he told me that he was there along with another man wearing a mustache. I don’t know anything else.
He also found among his belongings the clothes, which were stained and torn, which he handed to the Civil Guard. Also, he took the 6,000 euros that he had in his backpack to cover the cost of the trip. He has not found any additional clues in the luggage of his father. To report the events, she and her brother went to the Nerja barracks and guard court to have their death investigated. The Judicial Police Unit now tries to find the answer to this question that resounds in their heads over and over. Ricardo Capparelli, what happened?