‘Butcher of Elche’, Mario García Fernández, has accepted a sentence of 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to the murder of his girlfriend, Mari Paz Moreno.

The man who has been dubbed by the press as the ‘Butcher of Elche’, Mario García Fernández, has accepted a sentence of 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to the murder of his girlfriend, Mari Paz Moreno.

Her chopped up body was found distributed amongst four separate rubbish containers in Elche in June 2009.

The accused had faced a possible 25 years behind bars, but the prosecutor in the case proposed the lower term after he admitted his guilt at his trial by jury on Tuesday. He’s understood to have asked for forgiveness from the jury and from the victim’s family.

The victim died during an argument at the couple’s home on June 12 2009, when her killer snatched up a kitchen knife and stabbed his partner more than 30 times.

He was arrested two days later when the first body part was discovered in a local rubbish bin in the Pla district of Elche.