Man arrested in student murder

By Felicia Schwartz, The Dartmouth Staff

Published on Monday, February 13, 2012

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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 mathematics 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 also 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 photographs 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 forcing him to take sleeping pills 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 on Friday.

Scott’s parents, Pat Scott and Norm Scott, said in a statement to The Dartmouth that they have faith in the Spanish court system and police force to “handle this case carefully” and deliver justice.

“There is, of course, no outcome that will bring back our son,” they said.

Charles Inman, coordinator of the Academy of Liberal and Beaux-Arts program run by Portland State University in which Scott was participating at the time of his death, said he was informed of the homicide charges on Saturday night by El Periodico’s coverage and is waiting to receive more information. He said he has not been in contact with the police about the ongoing investigation.

“If I had a police number to call, I would,” Inman said. “They never left me a number to contact.”

Inman said that because Scott died before the ALBA program had begun, the Barcelona police do not seem to consider Scott affiliated with the study abroad program.

“It seems like they don’t feel a need to let us into the loop just because he hadn’t started our program yet,” he said.

The night of his death, Scott was with several friends, all of whom returned to their own apartments except Scott, ALBA Director Charles Grant said in an email to The Dartmouth. Scott failed to return to his apartment and did not show up for an ALBA orientation session at noon on Jan. 7, at which time the police were notified, Grant said.

Following the discovery of Scott’s body on Jan. 7, Grant said police told him “there did not appear to have been any physical violence and he appeared to have died in his sleep.”

The ALBA program reviews its safety procedures during orientation, Inman said. Scott was reported missing after he failed to show up for the orientation session.

Currently, 60 Dartmouth students are studying in Barcelona on the ALBA program, Inman said. The program has not yet officially notified the students of the arrest, but many have likely already heard the news via the Internet, he said.

“We don’t want to do things by email — that seems shallow,” Inman said.

ALBA will have a counselor on call, as it did when Scott died, he said. Inman said he was impressed with the Dartmouth students on the trip, who have been “incredibly strong going through all of this,” he said.

Scott’s parents said they are grateful for the support they have received from family and friends, as well as from the ALBA program and Dartmouth community.

“As devastated as we are by the loss of our beloved Crispin, the circumstances surrounding his senseless death add to the immense pain for us and others who cared so much for him,” Pat and Norm Scott said in the statement.

College President Jim Yong Kim said in a statement to The Dartmouth that the College is closely monitoring developments in the Spanish courts and the media coverage surrounding the arrest.

“On behalf of the entire Dartmouth community, I extend our deepest sympathy to Crispin’s family during this impossibly difficult time,” Kim said.

El Periodico is a daily newspaper printed in both Spanish and Catalan. It has a circulation of approximately 128,000 and is the second most popular paper among Catalan readers, according to Spain’s Office of Information and Publications Control.