[2] After his release, Salhi illegally moved to Spain in 2007 under another identity, settling in a residence at Fontana Beach, Riviera del Sol.
After killing the women, he would steal their mobile phones, cash and credit cards, with his girlfriend later withdrawing 1,000 euros from the first two victims' bank accounts.
At the time of discovery, the corpse was at an advanced stage of decomposition, but police managed to find that Salhi's number was the last one the victim had called before her death.
[3] Detectives working on both cases began developing a theory that the murders were committed by the same person, backed up by the fact that the victims were supposedly chosen because they were vulnerable women who received their clients in rented flats.
Through examination of phone records, they received another clue to the killer's identity, but the discovery came after 2,000 euros were withdrawn from one of the women's bank accounts.
During the subsequent five hour investigation, he confessed to the Costa del Sol murders, providing great detail in both instances.