Rubén Manu Simón Case Violence, Justice, and a Life Tragically Lost PART2 #6

Not long after everything happened, the civil guard managed to confirm the identity through fingerprint analysis. The girl found in the ravine was Vanessa Ferrer. Once the news started spreading around the town, a heavy sense of shock and disbelief took over everyone. People just couldn't wrap their heads around it. Vanessa wasn't just anyone, she was known for being sweet, cheerful, and genuinely loved by those around her. The idea that she had died in such violent and unclear circumstances felt unreal, like something that shouldn't happen in a place like that. Family members, close friends, and even her boyfriend gathered near the town hall, visibly shaken and devastated. The entire community felt the loss deeply. It wasn't just another tragic story, it hit close to home. The town council of Stella quickly declared three official days of mourning, a gesture that reflected how much Vanessa meant to everyone. Meanwhile, her parents, her sister, and her closest circle were completely broken. They received support from three different teams of psychologists, trying to help them process something that didn't make sense. At first, Ruben told people he had plans to meet Vanessa along with a few friends to hang out and smoke, but according to him, she never showed up. That story didn't hold for long. This by piece, the truth started to come out, and the chain of events leading to the tragedy began to unravel. It didn't take much time before the person responsible ended up confessing, but not before telling his father first. His father, completely shaken by what he had heard, decided to take his own son to the authorities. The man later explained that his entire family was devastated. They couldn't believe that someone from their own family was capable of taking another person's life. It wasn't something they had ever imagined. Standing in front of civil guard officers, Ruben admitted he was responsible for the homicide. He was arrested on the spot. People who knew him were stunned. Sure, some admitted he could be problematic or had a difficult personality, but crossing a line like that. That was something else entirely. Many tried to make sense of it by blaming drugs, thinking maybe he wasn't in control of himself. Others dismissed some of the rumors that began circulating above his past behavior, especially those related to his relationships. But then his ex-girlfriend spoke up. She was only 17 at the time and had been in a relationship with Ruben for about five years. What she revealed painted a completely different picture. She described her time with him as a nightmare, full of abuse, fear, and drugs. According to her, she had tried to warn people before, telling them he was dangerous, but no one took her seriously. She explained that their relationship started when she was just 11 years old and he was 14. Looking back, she described him as someone with two completely different sides. One moment he would be aggressive and violent, and the next he would be crying and apologizing, begging for forgiveness. It was confusing and emotionally exhausting. She said his true personality started showing about six months into the relationship. That's when the psychological abuse began, along with physical aggression. It wasn't constant at first, but it escalated over time. Despite everything, she stayed with him for years. It wasn't until three years later that she finally decided to leave and even requested a restraining order. But the story didn't end there. Somehow she ended up going back to him and the relationship continued for another two years. She later admitted that she stayed out of obligation, not love. During the times they were apart, he would stalk her, waiting outside her house, making sure she knew he was still around. She lived in constant fear, always looking over her shoulder. The girl also mentioned that she knew Vanessa. They weren't close friends, but they were familiar with each other. According to her, Vanessa likely agreed to meet Ruben simply because there weren't many young people in the town to hang out with at night. It wasn't unusual to end up spending time with whoever was available. She also pointed out that Vanessa probably didn't realize she would end up alone with him. As the investigation continued, media outlets began reconstructing what had happened at night. According to reports, shortly after 11.30pm on October 26, Vanessa had already died inside the house located at number 48, on San Anton Street. After committing the crime, Ruben sent more than 70 WhatsApp messages to one of his friends, a 19-year-old named Lewis Zhao. The messages were urgent and strange. He kept asking to borrow his car, saying he needed it for just 10 minutes. Some of the messages even included laughing emojis, which made the situation even more unsettling in hindsight. He insisted it was something urgent but harmless. He never explained why he needed the car. In reality, he was trying to get rid of Vanessa's body and needed transportation to move it. Despite the urgency in his messages, he never directly mentioned anything about what had happened. At first, Lewis refused multiple times. Something didn't feel right, or maybe he just didn't want to lend his car late at night. But Ruben kept insisting, pushing harder each time. Eventually, Lewis gave in and drove his car to the location where Ruben was. When he arrived, Lewis took the opportunity to ask again why the car was so urgently needed. Ruben's answer was completely different from what one might expect. He said he needed it to meet up with his ex-girlfriend for sex. It sounded strange, but not alarming enough to suspect something serious. Lewis stayed outside the garage and didn't see what was happening inside the house. Ruben asked him to wait at his own place and said he wouldn't take long. Lewis didn't suspect anything at all. He later explained that Ruben was his friend, and the thought of something like this didn't even cross his mind. About 20 minutes passed between the moment Ruben left with the car and when he returned. That was all the time he needed to drive to the ravine, dispose of Vanessa's body, and come back. It was quick, calculated, and chilling. At that point, Lewis still had no idea what had happened. He went on with his night, unaware of the role he had unknowingly played. It wasn't until later, when news of the discovery of Vanessa's body began circulating, that thing started to connect in his mind. Once he realized the possible connection, he immediately contacted the civil guard. He told them everything about lending his car to Ruben and showed them the messages he had received. He even went to Vanessa's family home to speak with her mother, showing her the same messages and explaining what had happened. Lewis cooperated fully with the investigation. He gave statements twice to the homicide unit of the civil guard in Valencia. At no point did he refuse any requests from authorities. He even agreed to provide DNA samples to prove his innocence. Everything he did showed that he had no involvement in the crime itself. Ruben later confirmed this, stating clearly that he had acted alone and that none of his friends knew anything about what had happened. Going back to what happened inside the house, before contacting Lewis, Ruben told authorities that Vanessa had gotten angry about something. According to his version, that's when he grabbed her forcefully. Later, with a court-appointed lawyer present, he gave a second statement. This time, his explanation was vague and inconsistent. He claimed that he had consensual relations with Vanessa, but his account lacked clarity and didn't fully explain how things escalated to violence. The gaps in his story only raised more questions, leaving investigators to dig deeper into what really happened during those final moments inside that house. As the investigation moved forward, the contradictions in Ruben's statements became more obvious. What he said didn't fully match the physical evidence or the timeline that detectives were building step by step. Each new detail uncovered by the civil guard made the situation clearer, but also more disturbing. What had started as confusion in a small town was turning into a case that no one there could forget. The forensic teams working on the house at San Anton Street carefully examined every corner. They were trying to reconstruct what had happened in those final moments Vanessa was alive. The evidence suggested a sudden escalation, something fast and violent that left little time for escape or defense. Nothing about it pointed to a planned meeting gone normally wrong. Instead, everything indicated a loss of control that ended in tragedy. Meanwhile, in town, the atmosphere was heavy. People spoke in low voices, almost afraid of saying the wrong thing. Vanessa's name kept coming up everywhere, in shops, in schools, in conversations between neighbors who were still trying to process it. She wasn't just a victim in the news. She was someone they had seen grow up, someone they had laughed with, shared spaces with. and now mourned. Her family remained completely devastated. Psychologists continued supporting them, but grief like that doesn't follow a simple path. It was described as a mix of disbelief, anger, and deep sadness. One moment they would try to understand what happened, and the next they would fall back into shock, unable to accept it was real. Ruben, on the other hand, stayed in custody. His statements kept shifting slightly depending on the legal framing, but the core inconsistencies remained. At times, he tried to present the encounter as something voluntary that escalated unexpectedly. At other times, he avoided details entirely, focusing instead on vague explanations that didn't match the forensic findings. Others, however, were not relying only on his words. They were reconstructing the timeline using digital evidence, phone records, messages, witness accounts, and physical traces. The 70+ WhatsApp messages sent to Lewis played an important role in understanding his state of mind after the crime. The urgency, the insistence, and the lack of explanation all pointed toward someone trying to solve a problem quickly, without letting others know what had actually happened. Lewis's testimony also helped clarify the timeline. He explained in detail how he received repeated messages, how Ruben pressured him, and how unusual the entire situation felt in hindsight. At the time, he hadn't suspected anything serious, but once the news broke, everything made sense in a way that was deeply unsettling for him. For the civil guard, the 20 minute window was crucial. It showed how quickly everything unfolded after Vanessa's death. Within that short period, Ruben had already made decisions, moved the body, cleaned up what he could, and returned as if nothing had happened. The speed of its suggested panic mixed with a desire to control the situation. The ravine where Vanessa's body was found became another key focus. It was isolated enough that someone could believe it would delay discovery, but not remote enough to avoid detection forever. Once investigators examined the area, they were able to confirm the path and method used to transport her there. Each detail added another piece to the puzzle. Back in town, the emotional impact continued to grow. The three days of official mourning declared by the municipality were filled with silence, flowers, and messages of support. People gathered not just to grieve, but also to try to understand how something like this could happen in their community. It challenged the sense of safety many had taken for granted. Friends of Vanessa shared memories of her personality, how she laughed easily, how she was always approachable, and how she made others feel comfortable. These recollections made the contrast with the violent circumstances of her death even harder to process. It felt like two completely different realities colliding. At the same time, discussions about Ruben's past began to spread more widely. The testimony of his ex-girlfriend became central to understanding his behavior pattern. Her account of years of abuse, manipulation, and fear painted a consistent image of a relationship marked by control and aggression. It also raised questions about how much of this behavior had gone unnoticed or unaddressed by those around him. She repeated that she had tried to warn people before, but her words had not been taken seriously. That detail became important in the broader conversation within the town. It forced people to reflect on how warning signs are often ignored when they come from young victims or complicated relationships. Despite all of this, investigators were careful not to base conclusions solely on past behavior. They focused on evidence from the night itself. The forensic analysis, combined with digital records and testimonies, allowed them to establish a coherent sequence of events that aligned more closely with the physical findings than with Ruben's changing statements. Eventually, Ruben's confession that he had acted alone became a key point in the legal process. He tried to separate his actions from anyone else's involvement, insisting that his friends had no idea what had happened. This was consistent with what the investigation had already shown regarding Lewis and others. However, the motive remained a subject of analysis. His explanations were inconsistent, ranging from claims of an argument to vague references about intimacy. None of these explanations fully accounted for the violence or the rapid escalation described by forensic experts. That gap between explanation and evidence remained one of the central issues in the case. As time passed, the case became more than just a local tragedy. It turned into a broader reflection on violence, relationships, and the hidden dynamics that can exist behind closed doors. People began to talk more openly about warning signs, emotional abuse, and the importance of listening when someone says they are in danger. For Vanessa's family, none of those discussions could change what had happened. Their focus remained on surviving each day, supported by professionals and loved ones. The absence of Vanessa created a void that no explanation or investigation could fill. In custody, Ruben's legal situation continued to develop, with his statements forming part of a larger judicial process that would determine responsibility and sentencing. The contradictions in his version of events, combined with the forensic and digital evidence, would play a key role in the outcome. What remained clear to everyone involved was that a chain of decisions, some impulsive, some deliberate, had led to an irreversible outcome. A night that began with normal social interactions in a small town had ended in tragedy, leaving behind questions that would take a long time to fully process. In the end, the town of Sella was left-changed. The sense of familiarity and safety had been shaken. People continued their lives, but with a different awareness of how quickly things could spiral out of control without warning. And while the legal process would continue to run its course, for many, the memory of Vanessa Farer would remain the most powerful part of the story, not the crime itself, but the life that was lost and the impact she had on those who knew her. be continued.