José Rabadán Pardo, better known as the "catana murderer" (an Oriental sword used by samurais), briefly escaped from his minders today during an excursion to Elche. On April 1 2000, the bodies of Rafael Rabadán, his wife Mercedes and their 9-year old daughter were found at their home in Santiago El Mayor (Murcia). Three days later, the couple's son José was arrested in the Alicante train station just as he was about to board a train to escape to Barcelona. José was found guilty of the murders, and he was put into the "La Zarza" borstal as he was then underage. Apparently his parents were upset with him over his decision to abandon his education at 15 years of age. The sword, measuring 71 centimetres, was given to him by his parents as a present, due to his interest in martial arts. The psychologists of "La Zarza" issued a statement to the Superior Justice Tribunal of Murcia, declaring that José needed psychiatric treatment because of his sadistic personality. Finally, Rabadán was sentenced to 12 years in the therapeutic centre of "Las Moreras" in the district of Sangonera la Verde, in Murcia. He has remained there without causing problems until today, when he escaped for four hours until he was found by the police walking along the side of the A-7 motorway towards Murcia.
