Bournemouth police have named the alleged killer of 23-year-old Sergio Retamar Marquez as Karl Addo, 29, who is currently being held in a secure mental unit outside Dorset.
Addo grew up in the United States in Georgia and Atlanta, and transferred from the Georgia Institute of Technology to London University’s Queen Mary College where he studied aerospace engineering from 2008-2010.
Over the weekend, shocked residents remembered seeing Addo around the Lansdowne area where Sergio Retamar’s body was found in a flat last week. One man, who did not want to be named, told a local paper that the two men appeared to be flatmates rather than friends, with Sergio moving in first and Addo afterwards.
Staff and customers at nearby Sonia’s House restaurant also remembered Addo. One female worker, who asked not to be named, said he seemed to do nothing but walk around and watch the restaurant’s TV from the doorway. Sergio had written to his mother that he found his flatmate “strange” and kept out of his way.
Bunches of flowers have been placed in his memory at the entrance to Lansdowne Mews where Sergio lived. His photo has been tied to scaffolding with remains of the police tape with a message that read: “You will be sadly missed. Always in our hearts.” His staff badge from Britannia Hotels where he worked and was very popular has also been fixed to the photo.
Coin mayor Fernando Fernandez Tapia-Ruano, who Sergio’s family have appointed as their spokesman, has said his mother is in counselling following the loss of her only child. He said the town hall will declare a day of mourning on the day of Sergio’s funeral. There is no confirmed news of when the body will be repatriated.
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