In a case so twisted it could be mistaken for a psychological thriller, Maria Angel Molina—a woman once trusted as a close friend—was exposed as the cold-blooded murderer of Anna Maria Paz, a gifted designer whose life and identity she literally stole. What began as an innocent friendship ended in betrayal, greed, and a meticulously planned act of deception that stunned the entire nation.
On February 19, 2008, Anna Maria vanished after arranging to meet Molina for dinner. Friends assumed she was fine—until her lifeless body was discovered days later in a rented apartment. She had been suffocated, her death scene disturbingly staged to look accidental. But investigators quickly realized something far darker was at play.
Molina had not only murdered her friend but had begun living as her. Police found that she had taken out multiple loans and insurance policies in Anna’s name—over 100,000 euros in debt and another 800,000 euros in potential insurance payouts. Surveillance footage later revealed her withdrawing cash using Anna’s ID just hours after the murder.
When detectives dug into Molina’s past, a chilling pattern emerged. She had a trail of false identities, fraud schemes, and a mysterious first husband whose death was now being re-examined. Every move she made seemed part of a long game of manipulation and control. The evidence that sealed her fate came from a wig left at the scene—with hair matching her DNA.
In March 2012, Molina was convicted and sentenced to 22 years in prison, later reduced to 18. But investigators believe this is not the end of her story. The suspicious death of her husband still looms over the case, raising the terrifying question: Was Anna Maria Paz truly her only victim?
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Today, the story of Maria Angel Molina stands as one of Spain’s most haunting true crimes—a horrifying reminder that sometimes, the most dangerous people are the ones who smile closest to us.
