- "Cooking Up Murder" tells the story of Spanish chef César Román, who murdered his girlfriend, Heidi Paz.
- The chef killed Paz in 2018, and he then moved to Madrid using a fake name.
- Here's where Román is now.
Netflix's "Cooking Up Murder" tells the story of Spanish chef César Román, who killed his girlfriend, Heidi Paz, in 2018.
The three-part docuseries is the latest true crime offering from the streaming service, which recently had audiences gripped with shows about other real-life cases, including "American Nightmare" and "Lover, Stalker, Killer."
The true crime genre is a huge hit with audiences, partly because it blurs the lines between entertainment and real life, as psychologist Dr. Ruth Tully told Business Insider when discussing another recent Netflix hit, "Baby Reindeer."
It's no surprise, then, that the streaming service is continuing to pump out more gripping true crime shows, including "Cooking Up Murder."
Román appears in the series, which details how he murdered Paz in 2018. He killed her after she decided to end their relationship, Spanish newspaper Madrid Metropolitan reported. Paz went missing in the July of that year. In August, firefighters found her torso inside a suitcase as they were putting out a fire at a warehouse rented by Román.
As per the docuseries, the rest of her body was never found.
After dismembering his girlfriend, Román fled to the city of Zaragoza in northeastern Spain, where he worked as a chef in a bar under a new identity: José. He lost weight, grew a beard, and shaved his head to change his appearance and evade the authorities.
Although Román maintains his innocence, he was convicted of killing Paz in 2021.
César Román was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
In the series, Román alleges that Paz was killed by a gang in connection to a cocaine deal gone wrong. But in June 2021, a court in Madrid found him guilty of her murder and sentenced him to 15 years in prison. He was also ordered to pay €250,000 to Heidi's family, per Madrid Metropolitan.
Román unsuccessfully appealed the conviction three times, and he is serving his sentence in Soto del Real Penitentiary Center, on the outskirts of Madrid.
Román wrote a letter to Paz's family, admitting his guilt and apologizing
Toward the end of "Cooking Up Murder," Román claims that his "quickest way out of prison" would be to write a letter admitting that he's guilty and to apologize to her family.
On April 15, 2024, he wrote a letter expressing remorse for his actions, as reported by Spanish newspaper El Pais, which published quotes from it.
"I cannot turn back time, something I would like more than anything in the world," Román wrote. "I want to express my willingness to face my responsibilities, as well as to repair the damage."
He also claimed that he had a "reconciliation with God" and decided to ask for forgiveness after "prayer and the encounter with Jesus Christ."
According to Spanish outlet El Heraldo, the chef also wrote: "I inform the Provincial Court of Madrid of my recognition of the crime committed, my regret, and in which I ask for forgiveness from the victim's family."
He added: "I want to humbly ask for forgiveness from Heidi's family and everyone affected by my deplorable actions."
Alexis Socias, the lawyer who represented Paz's family, told El Pais she believed the letter was a ploy to access a better life in prison.
"In a year and a half, half of his sentence will be served and this would be a way to begin to access those privileges," she said.
