Kriti Mehrotra
As a documentary series living up to its title in every way conceivable, Netflix’s ‘Cooking Up Murder: Uncovering the Story of César Román’ can only be described as utterly baffling and gripping. That’s because it explores the reality of Spanish journalist, politician, restaunter, and scammer César Román Viruete as he fell from grace following his partner Heydi (Heidi) Paz Bulnes’ 2018 murder. It turned out he was actually responsible for it — in fact, he had reportedly always been controlling, manipulative, as well as psychotic to a dangerous level, but nobody took action against him.
César Román Led a Life of Lies
Although born on November 25, 1973, in Madrid, Spain, César’s early years and upbringing sadly weren’t comfortable, happy, or idealistic in any way, shape, or form owing to uninterested parents. Their brood of three was thus raised by grandparents, just for the former to allegedly become rather protective of their household – this is why he of ten lied about his past both publicly and privately. The truth is these falsehoods ranged from him being a Basque native to losing his parents at a young age to having several significant connections, yet he was indeed a man of many hats.
“I’ve lived the kind of life where I’ve done so many things,” César candidly expressed in the aforementioned original. “And so, I have friends from many different moments and different times in my life.” He was actually a journalism student at one point while also ostensibly being involved with model-actress Ines Sastre, only to then dabble in the world of government services plus military too. As per reports, there was a time when he genuinely held a position in far-right local parties like La Falange, PxC, as well as CDS, yet his services were merely lies of unimaginable proportion.
César purportedly faked being in the Civil Guard, had zero connections with General Enrique Rodriguez Galindo despite claiming to be friends, and even pretended to have served in the army. Nevertheless, it’s imperative to note he maintains he did serve the nation, albeit for a short while before quickly moving on to a job at a private security company based in the north of Israel. “I needed to stay busy, so I led a very active life and have done a lot,” he later added in the show. “For example, I have been in unions, in other trade organizations. I have worked in politics.”
And it was during César’s stint in politics in the 1990s that his hunger to be in the spotlight allegedly expanded even further, driving him to ultimately step foot into the food and beverage industry. In 2016, he won a cachopo-making competition and was crowned the King of Cachopo, a title he then utilized to establish his own restaurants and bars, but then it came to light this entire competition was something he’d created and rigged. He even came up with random marketing strategies and games to expand his businesses, resulting in his opening his fourth cider house in 2018.
However, César was never very liquid and often had trouble paying suppliers, financiers, as well as employees because he apparently utilized most of it to maintain his luxurious lifestyle, drug habits, and gambling debts. We specify drugs because that’s something his ex-partners explicitly indicated in court during his 2021 trial for once-girlfriend Heydi Paz Bulnes’ 2018 murder. His ex-wife Natividad Rodríguez, with whom he shares a daughter named Elena, conceded she parted ways with him in 2017 and even secured a restraining order against him because he’d become physical.
Then, César’s girlfriend immediately following his marriage, Sara, came forward to declare he had a cocaine habit and was abusive to such an extent he even killed three of her pet dogs. She then added he was also controlling as well as manipulative, which she backed by giving the example of how he took “revenge” on her for leaving him by pretending to be a girl, flirting with her now-husband on Facebook, and then convincing him to meet for an affair at a hotel. She maintained a picture of how he had no empathy or positive emotions for someone he didn’t deem useful for himself, which affected the verdict.
César Román is Behind Bars
In June 2021, a jury convicted César of Heydi’s murder before sentencing him to a total of 15 years behind bars, just for him to admit to his guilt in April 2024 in the hopes of reducing this time to be served. In a letter to a district judge, this former restauranter penned that while he “cannot turn back time,” he “[wants] to make clear [his] regret” for what transpired and “repair the damage” he caused. “… I want to humbly ask for forgiveness from Heidi’s family and everyone affected by my deplorable actions.” However, his own attorney has since indicated he didn’t mean any of it as they plan to keep appealing his conviction. Therefore, today, at the age of 50, César is still incarcerated and serving his time at the Soto del Real Penitentiary Center in Madrid, Spain.
Read More: Heydi Paz Bulnes: How Did She Die? Who Killed Her?
