This gruesome story was the inspiration behind the Netflix hit A Widow’s Game

With thrillers, it is a reassuring thought that the stories are just made up. It feels different when you know that the events actually happened. This is also the case with the new Spanish Netflix hit ‘A Widow's Game’ (La Viuda Negra). The crime thriller focuses on a bizarre murder case in Valencia and is therefore at the top of the top 10 in 56 countries. It may sometimes seem hard to believe, but the creators really drew their inspiration from a true story.

The story of A Widow's Game

In August 2017, a man's body is found in a parking garage; Valencia multiple stab wounds indicate a brutal murder. Detective Eva (Carmen Machi) is tasked with investigating the case. One thing quickly becomes clear: it is certainly not a robbery gone wrong. But what really happened? The further Eva gets into her investigation, the more she focuses on Maje (Ivana Baquero), the widow of the victim. Although she is known as a sweet and caring person and comes across as a grieving loved one, Eva starts to have more and more questions. Maje turns out to be living in a web of lies. There is no doubt that she had something to do with her husband's death; the only question is what.

The different main characters

Unlike what is ‘normal’ for thrillers, this time the story is told not only from the detective's perspective or from the (potential) perpetrator's. The creators chose to show different perspectives. As viewers, we alternately follow Eva, Maje, and Salva (Tristán Ulloa), one of Maje's lovers who gets caught up in her lies. While they all experience the investigation in their own way, we also get a glimpse into their lives before the murder. And it is precisely there that the answers seem to lie about how all of this could have happened.

The true story behind A Widow's Game

For the story, the creators drew their inspiration from a true case known as the ‘Black Widow of Patraix’. It is August 16, 2017, when 36-year-old Antonio Navarro Cerdán leaves his home in Patraix, a neighborhood in Valencia, to go to work. But just before he can get into his car, he is stabbed in the parking garage. While the police start an investigation, Antonio's 27-year-old wife reacts in shock. In the media, María Jesús Moreno Cantó, better known as Maje, expresses her disbelief and sorrow over the loss of her husband. But the image of a grieving widow changes when the police interrogate her. Maje is very calm, and her emotional reactions do not fit someone who has experienced such a tragic event. The widow becomes the main suspect, and the detectives discover that she had been hiding multiple affairs. From phone conversations, the police eventually learn that Maje persuaded her lover Salvador Rodrigo Lapiedra to murder Antonio.

How Maje and Salvador were caught

After listening to phone conversations and reading messages, Maje and Salvador are arrested in January 2018. Salvador claims that Maje had nothing to do with it and that it was entirely his idea. Both are detained while they await further investigation and trial. During that time, Maje starts a relationship with another inmate; for Salvador, this is a reason to finally be honest about what happened. In a new statement, he admits to having lied earlier and confesses that Maje also played an important role in their plan. Due to his honesty and cooperation with the investigation, Salvador ultimately receives a 'lower' prison sentence of 17 years. Maje continues to insist, despite all the evidence, that she had nothing to do with it; she receives a longer sentence of 22 years. They must also both pay 250,000 euros to Antonio's family. murder te maken heeft en dat het volledig zijn idee was. Allebei worden ze in hechtenis vastgezet, terwijl zij het verdere onderzoek en de rechtszaak moesten afwachten. In die tijd krijgt Maje een relatie met een andere gevangene; voor Salvador een reden om nu toch maar eerlijk te zijn over wat er is gebeurd. In een nieuwe verklaring vertelt hij eerder te hebben gelogen en bekent hij dat ook Maje een belangrijke rol heeft gespeeld in hun plan. Door zijn eerlijkheid en het meewerken aan het onderzoek, krijgt Salvador uiteindelijk een ‘lagere’ gevangenisstraf van 17 jaar. Maje blijft, ondanks al het bewijs, volhouden dat ze er niets mee te maken heeft; zij krijgt dan ook een langere straf van 22 jaar. Ook moeten ze allebei 250.000 euro betalen aan de familie van Antonio.

Where are Maje and Salvador now?

Since their convictions in 2020, both Maje and Salvador are serving their sentences. In prison, Maje meets fellow inmate David, who has been incarcerated for murder since 2008. She starts a relationship with him and becomes pregnant. In July 2023, Maje gives birth, under police supervision, in a hospital in Alicante. She is then transferred to the mother-child department of the hospital. Here she can stay with her baby until the child is 3 years old. After that, a family member or a foster family will have to take over the care until Maje has fully served her sentence.

Although the creators have almost taken the story of the case one-to-one, some details have been adjusted, mainly for the privacy of those involved. But even with these adjustments, the true and especially bizarre case clearly comes to the forefront; and that is precisely why the film is a must-see for crime lovers. ‘A Widow's Game’ is now available on Netflix.

Image: Netflix