Mario Biondo case: what the Madrid Court said, the Netflix documentary and what happens now

A viral post is circulating this weekend stating that "the Provincial Court of Madrid now recognizes" that the death of Mario Biondo was not a suicide. The formulation may be misleading: there is no new car in July 2026. What is circulating is the resolution of October 2025, which for the first time a Spanish court admitted in an official writing that there are indications that the death of the Italian cameraman – then husband of Raquel Sánchez Silva, today host of Maestros de la Costura on TVE – could not have been suicide. But at the same time he refused to reopen the investigation in Spain. This article organizes the case, explains what is happening today in Madrid and links to the Netflix documentary that popularized it, The Last Hours of Mario Biondo (file 81648987).

What happened the night of May 30, 2013

Mario Biondo, a 36-year-old Italian cameraman known for his work on television (including Survivors), was found dead in the apartment he shared with Raquel Sánchez Silva in the center of Madrid. She was then one of the most visible presenters on Spanish television - with experience on TVE, Cuatro and Telecinco. He appeared hanging from a shelf with a handkerchief, in a position that from the first moment generated doubts among his family and several experts.

Years later, Raquel Sánchez Silva became the face of Masters of Sewing on Televisión Española: the fashion and sewing contest inspired by The Great British Sewing Bee that the public network premiered in 2018 and that she continues to present in its different editions (including the Celebrity version in 2025).

The autopsy carried out in Spain concluded suicide. The Investigative Court number 21 of Madrid closed the case. Raquel Sánchez Silva, who was in Barcelona that night for work, always defended the initial judicial version and has maintained public silence on the matter for years.

The Biondo family, on the other hand, never accepted her. They maintained that Mario did not have a suicidal profile, that steps were lacking (telephone analysis, additional records, exhaustive toxicological tests) and that the crime scene did not fit with a voluntary hanging.

The investigation in Italy and the Palermo turn (2022)

While the case was closed in Spain, in Italy the family promoted a parallel investigation. In August 2022, Judge Nicola Aiello of the Palermo Court issued a resolution based on new expert evidence and a third autopsy after exhumations of the body.

The Italian order was conclusive: the elements of the file "suggest that Mario Biondo was murdered by a hand that remains unknown and subsequently placed in a position suitable to simulate a suicide" (The World). That conclusion fueled a complaint in Madrid against specific people, which ended up being filed.

What exactly did the Provincial Court of Madrid say (October 2025)

In October 2025, the Provincial Court of Madrid resolved the appeal of the Biondo family, represented by the firm Vosseler Abogados. The three magistrates wrote a phrase that has since been quoted in a loop on networks:

"A complaint is provided for the first time against certain people, with numerous expert evidence and a copy [...] of a judicial resolution [...] from which there appear to be indications that Mr. Biondo's death was not suicidal."

That is to say: the Spanish court did not hand down a sentence of homicide, but it did acknowledge in writing that the evidence provided—including that from Palermo—opens indications against the thesis of suicide. Sources such as Telecinco, Euronews and El Mundo picked it up as a historic turn in the case.

However, in the same order the Court dismissed the appeal "due to res judicata": the case was already closed in Spain and the time that had elapsed prevented, according to the court, from reopening the investigation with the procedures requested by the family.

Is Raquel Sánchez Silva guilty?

This point is usually mixed in networks with the recognition of signs. The judicial response to date is clear: no.

El Periódico explained that the Madrid Court confirmed the inadmissibility of the complaint against Raquel Sánchez Silva and a family member yours. The Palermo Court itself, despite its doubts about suicide, concluded that there was no evidence to blame them for the death. The host of Maestros de la Costura is, therefore, exculpated in both jurisdictions.

Mario's mother, Santina Biondo, celebrated the 2025 order as a moral victory ("finally in Spain it is recognized that my son was killed"), but criticized Raquel's behavior after the death (Telecinco). That is family and media opinion; It is not a judicial sentence.

What's happening now in Madrid (July 2026)

As of today, the case remains closed in Spain. There is no new sentence or reopening of investigation in the Madrid courts. What does continue is the family's legal battle:

• Appeal to the Constitutional Court, to try to force the reopening and practice of evidence that they consider omitted.
• Claim for financial responsibility against the Administration of Justice for alleged irregularities in the autopsy and the file (Telecinco, World Sports).
• Threat of going to the European Court of Human Rights if the TC does not give a favorable response.

The family's lawyer, Leire López, has described the 2025 order as confirmation that the death was "homicidal and probably premeditated, and therefore murder" in terms of her procedural strategy - an interpretation of the defense, not a conviction.

In summary: in July 2026 there is no judicial news in Madrid compared to October 2025. What is circulating again in X is the media echo of that order, revived by the Netflix documentary and by the persistence of the family.

The Netflix documentary: The last hours of Mario Biondo

In August 2023, Netflix premiered The Last Hours of Mario Biondo, a three-episode documentary miniseries directed by María Pulido. It is available in the platform's global catalog with file 81648987.

Episodes

1. «Mario's Night» (42 min) — The couple's media idyll and the family's first alarms after the death.
2. «Media trial» (44 min) — The judicial closure in Spain and the parallel investigation of the Biondos; Rachel's decisions under scrutiny.
3. «Mario was not alone» (41 min) — The coverage in Italy, new expert reports and the role of the controversial Emme Team.

The series does not close the case: it reconstructs testimonies, collects the family's version and exposes the gaps in the Spanish investigation. In Rotten Tomatoes it is listed as a crime documentary (TV-MA) released on August 3, 2023.

Where to see it: Netflix Spain — The last hours of Mario Biondo · Netflix US (Spanish) · Also in the What to see section of MARGENEZ.

Case timeline

• May 30, 2013 — Death of Mario Biondo in Madrid.
• 2013 — Spanish autopsy: suicide. Judicial archive.
• 2013-2022 — Family promotes research in Italy; exhumations and new expertise.
• Aug 2022 — Palermo Court: signs of simulated homicide.
• May 2023 — Court No. 23 of Madrid files a complaint against Raquel Sánchez Silva.
• Aug 2023 — Netflix premiere of The last hours of Mario Biondo.
• Oct 2025 — Provincial Court of Madrid: indications of non-suicide, but without reopening (res judicata).
• 2025-2026 — Family announces appeal to the Constitutional Court and property claim.

Conclusion

The Mario Biondo case is one of the most persistent enigmas in the Spanish social chronicle: 13 years later, the Spanish justice system admits in writing that the suicide is questionable, but refuses to reopen the file; Italy went further in the expertise; the family does not give up; and Netflix kept the debate alive with a series that remains in its catalog. If you came here because of X's post, keep the date in mind: the judicial milestone is October 2025, not this week. To go deeper, the starting point remains the documentary —and this article in our guide What to see.