Camilla Jessen
Nomadic traveler’s disappearance leads to ‘TikTok killer’ murder case.
A woman who spent years traveling across Spain vanished during a trip along the country’s Mediterranean coast. Months later, investigators made a grim discovery that turned her disappearance into a shocking murder case.
The story of Esther Estepa, a 42-year-old from Seville, has drawn widespread attention after it was featured in the Netflix documentary The TikTok Killer.
Esther Estepa was born and raised in Seville but left her hometown in 2013 to travel across Spain.
According to the Netflix documentary, she lived a nomadic lifestyle and often stayed in hostels or women’s shelters while moving between cities. Despite frequently relocating, she remained close to her family.
Her mother, Josefa “Pepa” Pérez, said they spoke almost every day through WhatsApp calls or messages. Estepa had also recently been rebuilding her life after leaving an abusive relationship, according to reporting cited in the documentary.
Suspicious messages
In August 2023, Estepa was traveling along Spain’s eastern coast when her family began receiving strange messages from her phone.
On Aug. 23, Pérez received WhatsApp texts claiming Estepa had left Spain and was living on the streets in Buenos Aires with two friends. The messages said she had no job and planned to sell her phone.
The statements immediately raised concern. Pérez later said the language and tone of the messages did not sound like her daughter.
When Estepa stopped answering calls, the family reported her missing on Aug. 26, 2023. Police traced her last known locations to Alicante and Gandía.
Suspicious contact
Shortly after the report, Pérez began receiving calls from a man who said he had traveled with Estepa before she disappeared.
The man was TikTok creator José “Dinamita” Jurado Montilla, who told the family he met Estepa at a hostel in Alicante. He claimed they traveled together and that he last saw her when he dropped her off at a health center in Gandía.
The family soon discovered Montilla had previously spent nearly three decades in prison for four murders in the 1980s.
Although they raised concerns with police, investigators initially lacked evidence connecting him to Estepa’s disappearance.
Remains discovered
The case remained unsolved for months until hikers made a discovery in February 2024.
According to El País, a skull and other remains were found near a highway outside Gandía. DNA testing later confirmed they belonged to Estepa.
Medical examiners determined she died from blunt force trauma to the head.
By that time, Montilla was already in prison in connection with the 2022 death of a 21-year-old university student.
Prosecutors later charged him in Estepa’s killing after investigators reportedly found evidence on his phone linking him to the crime. As of March 2026, Montilla remains in custody awaiting trial and denies involvement in both deaths.
Sources: The TikTok Killer on Netflix, El País, Artículo 14
