The disappearance
Diana Quer was spending the summer in Galicia when she disappeared after leaving festivities in A Pobra do Caramiñal during the early hours of August 22, 2016. Her disappearance triggered a large investigation and extensive searches, but no confirmed location for her was found for more than a year.
Investigators examined communications, routes, vehicles and witness information while the case remained open. Public attention was intense, but the absence of a body and the lack of a proven offender meant that many theories circulating during the investigation could not responsibly be treated as fact.
José Enrique Abuín Gey enters the case
The investigation ultimately focused on José Enrique Abuín Gey, widely referred to in Spanish reporting by the nickname “El Chicle.” The breakthrough came after his arrest in connection with a separate attempted abduction. During subsequent questioning, he admitted involvement in Diana's death and told investigators where he had concealed her body.
On December 31, 2017, investigators recovered Diana's remains from a well inside an industrial building in Asados, Rianxo. The recovery ended the uncertainty over her whereabouts after roughly 497 days and transformed the investigation into a murder prosecution.
What the jury found
The trial took place before a jury in the Provincial Court of A Coruña, sitting in Santiago de Compostela. The prosecution argued that Abuín kidnapped Diana with a sexual purpose and killed her to prevent discovery of the earlier crime.
The jury found him responsible, and the resulting judgment treated the murder as aggravated by treachery and as having been committed to conceal another offense against the victim's sexual freedom. The court also applied an analogue mitigating circumstance for confession because his later statement had enabled investigators to locate Diana's body.
The 2019 sentence
On December 17, 2019, the Provincial Court imposed prisión permanente revisable, Spain's permanent reviewable prison sentence, for the murder. It also imposed an additional four years and one day for unlawful detention and sexual assault in a medial concurrence, together with post-sentence supervision and protective orders concerning Diana's family.
The sentence was based on the judicially established sequence of abduction, sexual violence and murder. The court's findings—not earlier speculation surrounding the disappearance—are the basis used in this case file.
Appeal to the High Court of Galicia
Abuín challenged the conviction. On June 19, 2020, the High Court of Justice of Galicia rejected the appeal and confirmed the permanent reviewable sentence. The court said the established events had been sufficiently proved and found no basis to overturn the central findings of the first-instance judgment.
The appellate ruling was important because it addressed defense arguments about the evidence and legal classification while leaving the sentence intact.
The Supreme Court judgment
The case then reached Spain's Supreme Court. On November 26, 2020, the Criminal Chamber dismissed the cassation appeal in full. It confirmed the permanent reviewable sentence for murder and the additional four years and one day for unlawful detention and sexual assault.
The Supreme Court also maintained the compensation orders for Diana's parents and sister and the restrictions on approaching or communicating with them. With that ruling, the conviction became final through the ordinary appeal route.
Why the case is classified as solved
Unlike disappearances in which investigators identify a suspect but never obtain a definitive judgment, the Diana Quer case produced a complete criminal adjudication. The victim was recovered, the accused was tried, a jury returned a guilty verdict, and the judgment survived both regional and Supreme Court review.
There may still be public debate about investigative choices or aspects of media coverage, but those questions do not alter the legal status. Responsibility for the crimes was judicially established.
Timeline
August 22, 2016: Diana Quer disappears in A Pobra do Caramiñal, Galicia.
2016–2017: investigators conduct extensive searches and review evidence while the disappearance remains unresolved.
Late December 2017: José Enrique Abuín Gey is arrested in connection with another attempted abduction and subsequently admits involvement in Diana's death.
December 31, 2017: investigators recover Diana's remains from a well in an industrial building in Rianxo.
2019: a jury finds Abuín responsible for the crimes.
December 17, 2019: the Provincial Court of A Coruña imposes permanent reviewable imprisonment for murder plus an additional prison term for unlawful detention and sexual assault.
June 19, 2020: the High Court of Justice of Galicia confirms the sentence.
November 26, 2020: Spain's Supreme Court dismisses the cassation appeal and confirms the conviction and sentence.
Current status
José Enrique Abuín Gey's conviction remains final. He is serving the permanent reviewable sentence imposed for Diana Quer's murder together with the additional sentence confirmed by the Supreme Court. The case is classified as solved/adjudicated.