Spanish dentist accused of killing his own twins is found dead in prison

Mario Ceasar Deus Yela, the Spanish dentist accused of killing his twin children and trying to stab his ex-wife in South Africa, was found dead in his cell at Pollsmoor Prison.

The jail staff found the body of Deus on January 14, during unlock time. According to Singabakho Nxumalo, a spokesperson for the Correctional Services, the preliminary reports suggests that Deus overdosed on medication. The results are not conclusive, though.

William Booth, the lawyer who was taking care of Deus’ case, revealed that he and the man’s family were in “complete and utter shock” after learning the tragic news.

Deus, 49, was supposed to appear in the Western Cape High Court on February 29 to carry on with the trial in connection with the crime he was accused of. Back in 2017, the man, from Barcelona, Spain, went to South Africa to visit his twin children.

THE CRIME THAT PUT HIM BEHIND BARS

His ex-wife, Julia Engelhorn, revealed that she found the dead bodies of the three-year-old twins Octavia and Maximo in a bedroom at a Hout Bay holiday complex after Deus invited her for lunch.

Before discovering the bodies, Deus allegedly told her that he had killed the children. After that, the man reportedly threatened Engelhorn with a knife, but the lady escaped and ran to a security guard who helped her. Later, Deus stole the woman’s vehicle and left the scene, only to be arrested by police.

Booth also revealed that he and his client’s family were waiting for the autopsy reports to establish whether Deus passed away of natural causes. Booth added that the man had a psychologist and a psychiatrist regularly checking on him while behind bars.

CHRIS WATTS CASE

Unfortunately, Deus is not the only father who has killed his children. Chris Watts strangled his pregnant wife Shanann, 34, and killed her two daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3. Before the crime was solved, the man claimed that he killed Shanann in a bit of rage after he allegedly saw her killing the children. However, police discovered that it was Chris who killed all of them.

One of the most disturbing aspects of the crime was that the man hid the bodies of the two girls in an oil hatch located on his then-work site. Chris buried Shanann’s body in a shallow grave nearby, too.

Judge Marcelo Kopcow sentenced him to five life sentences as well as 48 years for unlawful termination of pregnancy plus 36 years for crimes related to disposing of the bodies.