Spanish police arrested a man in Barcelona on Wednesday for the alleged murder of Crispin Scott '13, who was found dead in a Barcelona apartment on Jan. 7 while studying abroad, the Spanish newspaper El Periodico de Catalunya reported Saturday. The man, whose name has not been released, is accused of fatally drugging Scott and is being held on homicide charges, according to El Periodico.
Early autopsy results indicated that Scott, a 20-year-old math major from Seattle, died of an accidental drug overdose, but later results demonstrated a suspiciously high amount of a powerful barbiturate in his system, according to El Periodico.
The arrested man is the landlord of the apartment building in which Scott was found, El Periodico reported.
During the arrest, agents searched the suspect's home and another apartment in Barcelona. Officers found two dozen photos of young people, both clothed and naked, whom the police suspect the arrested man drugged with a mixture of tranquilizers, El Periodico reported.
In 2009, a young man accused the arrested man of dissolving barbiturates in his drink and sexually violating him, El Periodico reported. Sources told El Periodico that the police are investigating whether the arrested man is a "serial rapist of young people."
The accused man appeared in court yesterday.
On Jan. 7, Scott was found dead in an apartment in Barcelona, where he was studying with a program affiliated with Portland State University. At the time, program director Charles Grant said that police told him "there did not appear to have been any physical violence and he appeared to have died in his sleep."
