The man known as the 'TikTok killer' has been arrested following charges relating to six different murders.
José Jurado Montilla has lived in Málaga, Spain, for most of his life but he is best known for his two arrests over the course of four decades.
Born in 1961, Montilla was first arrested in the mid-1980s for the murders of four people in the Málaga region, and was slapped with a 123-year prison sentence.
But after just 28 years behind bars, he was released as the result of a successful appeal to a Spanish sentencing law.
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Just one decade after his release, he made a TikTok account called 'Dinamita Montilla' and went by 'El Titi' or 'Dinamita', proclaiming his innocence while filming himself hiking around Spain.
This account would prove to be his downfall though, with authorities being able to track down his whereabouts when he was suspected of two additional murders, which is shown in the new Netflix documentary The TikTok Killer.
What was Montilla's first arrest for?
The TikToker committed his first known murder when he shot his neighbour, Francisco González, at his farmhouse.
While he was not arrested at first, he later confessed to the crime but was adamant that González approached him in his own home with a shotgun first.
He claimed that he then grabbed the gun and shot him out of self defense, but in the time before Montilla was charged, he killed at least three other people.
This included chauffeur Antonio Paniagua in March 1987 and a German and British tourist in May 1987.
He would be arrested in the late 1980s and be convicted of all four murders despite denying that he killed the latter three, as Montilla would be sentenced to 123 years in prison, claiming in a TikTok that he had 'absolutely nothing to do' with those crimes.
"Everything that happened in that part of the country was blamed on me," he claimed.
What was Montilla arrested for in 2024?
Two years ago, Montilla was arrested and charged with the murder of David, a 21-year-old college student.
He was fatally shot on his family farm, with local outlet SUR reporting that prior to his death in 2022, he described Montilla to his dad.
It is alleged that David told his dad he had been in touch with 'an older man who looked very shady', who wanted to hunt foxes.
The case went cold for a few years, but a connection would soon be made with another victim.
Fast forward to late August 2023 and the convict joined Esther Estepa, 42, while she hiked through Spain but just days after they met, she went missing.
She failed to get in contact with her mum, who she usually spoke to regularly, as Estepa vanished while hiking along the Spanish coast, stopping in Gandía to treat an injured leg.
Estepa's mother would receive texts on 23 August that year, but she told investigators that something was off, as she believed that they came from someone else.
Her family were not aware of Montilla's involvement with her, though when he reached out to share concern over her wherabouts, they became familiar.
He would then rewalk the same trails and roads they did in days prior, telling his followers Estapa's story and claimed that he hoped she would be found.
How was Montilla charged with both murders?
Montilla called Estepa's family several times, as they alerted authorities of their suspicions.
While investigators were looking for a connection between Montilla and Estepa, they obtained DNA results from David's crime scene, revealing that Montilla's DNA was found on David's backpack, as plans to arrest him were put in place.
Authorities went through his videos to find where he was, arresting him at a sports bar near the Spain-Portugal border, Crime Spain reported.
Estepa's skull and bones were discovered by a highway in Gandía in February 2024, with evidence connecting the social media creator to her death.
Montilla had around 3,000 TikTok followers at the time of his arrest, according to the Netflix doc, which also covers his past crimes.
He was already behing bars in connection with David's murder, though authorities claimed after searching his phone that they found evidence saying that he sexually assaulted and killed Estepa.
Montilla continues to maintain his innocence as he awaits trial.
The TikTok Killer is out on Netflix now.
Topics: Crime, Netflix, True Crime, Social Media
Joshua Nair