A Recipe For Murder (Spanish) (Documentary Series)

This Spanish documentary series chronicles the violent death of Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta on a tranquil Thai island, at the hands of Daniel Sancho, a 29-year-old aspiring chef known for his YouTube videos. Going over 5 episodes each of about 40-50 minutes, which captures the brief backgrounds of these two individuals, how/when they met. How/when murder happened and the trial and the media circus that followed. Inspite of the trial being covered extensively by the world’s media, mystery still surrounds the case. The series explores the questions that remain about Edwin and Daniel's relationship and also the double life led by each man.

We first meet Edwin, a Colombian guy who came from a very modest background and ended up becoming one of the most celebrated surgeons. With dreams and high hopes, he used to travel a lot and apparently met Daniel Sancho in Spain. Daniel is son of a very famous Spanish actor and wannabe chef. He came from a luxury background but also wanted to do something on his own. As per interviews, Edwin had decided to invest in Daniel's restaurant business. There are rumors that the two men were in sexual relationship. The duo decide to take a vacation in Thailand, where under horrible circumstances Daniel kills Edwin, cuts his body to pieces and throws all around the island. Thanks to CCTV cameras and other process, the Thai police is able to arrest Daniel. Daniel walks them through the whole process of how he went about killing Edwin but insists that he did that in self defense because Edwin wanted sexual relationship with him which he did not. He confesses to the crime though. While the court and the public become fixated on whether the murder was premeditated or not, the media circus soon takes over. There is ton of press from Spain trying to cover the trial but the judge refuses to allow any members of the press in the court, given the high profile status of Daniel. Controversy happens when Spanish layers replace Thai lawyers defending for Daniel. Apparently in actual trial, the defense doesn't do too well but neither does prosecution who fail to prove that this was premeditated. Opinions, often based on speculation rather than facts, spread across television and social media, creating a public judgment long before the verdict is announced. The verdict is given for life imprisonment.

My takeaway from this documentary is more around beyond the verdict, what lingers is the media circus itself – a reflection of our time, where the court of public opinion often overshadows justice, leaving us to question what lessons can be learned from this case. We have seen this time and again where media does its own trials based on what connections one has, leaving very little for the actual courts to decide. This documentary his mostly told through interviews of lawyers, journalists, Edwin's family members and other. No one from Daniel's side (family or legal team) participated in this documentary. Apparently Daniel's famous father had his own documentary being filmed while trial was going on. Episodes 2 and 3 were most interesting which cover the portions where Daniel walks through how he went about killing Edwin. He recreates scene to scene on how the events unfolded with the cops. Thanks to actual footage from Thai police, we see all those and audiences get to make their own judgement about the situation.

In spite of the trial being covered extensively by the world’s media, mysteries remain about the nature of the relationship between Daniel and Edwin. The five-part documentary explores the truth behind not only their relationship but also the double life led by each man. While examining a toxic relationship, the shocking discovery of a dismembered body, and the investigation that followed, this show shines a light on the role of the Thai legal system, the media, and even the audience itself. (5/10)