The latest on the tour guide at the center of Netflix’s true crime docuseries.

Where is Manuel Blanco Vela now? Inside the Predator of Seville’s alleged crimes — and how he was caught

The latest on the tour guide at the center of Netflix's true crime docuseries.

By Allison DeGrushe

Allison DeGrushe

Allison DeGrushe is a timely SEO writer at **. She has been working at * *since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on Distractify.

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April 1, 2026 12:36 p.m. ET

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Manuel Blanco Vela during his trial, as as seen in 'The Predator of Seville'. Credit:

Manuel Blanco Vela seemed like a friendly tour guide in Spain, but the foreign students he was meant to watch over revealed a different story.

Netflix's *The Predator of Seville *explores how several women united over their shared experiences with Blanco Vela — and eventually helped put him on trial for his crimes.**

The three-part series centers on survivor Gabrielle Vega as she recounts her own encounter with Blanco Vela and explains how she connected with other survivors. The documentary also delves into the tragic death of Lauren Bajorek, who's said to have crossed paths with Blanco Vela, and tracks the long fight for justice that eventually caught up with the tour guide.

So, where is Manuel Blanco Vela now? Read on for what we know.

Who is Manuel Blanco Vela?

Manuel Blanco Vela walking to his trial, as seen in 'The Predator of Seville'.

Manuel Blanco Vela, a.k.a. "Manu White," ran Discover Excursions, a company that organized cheap trips for American students in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. According to archival footage from his trial in early 2025, Blanco Vela said he started as an intern in 2010 and worked his way up to director before eventually buying the company.

Several people interviewed in the documentary say Blanco Vela came off as nice and approachable, but some of his accusers say that image didn't match what they experienced behind closed doors. His amiable front, they claim, was used to help manipulate and take advantage of them.

In the doc, accuser Sarah Carey describes Blanco Vela as someone with "a lot of power and connections." She adds that being around him felt unsettling, like he "didn't have a soul."

What happened to Gabrielle Vega?

Gabrielle Vega on 'The Predator of Seville'.

In 2013, 19-year-old Gabrielle Vega was studying abroad in Spain. After hearing good things about Discover Excursions, she and her friends booked a trip to Morocco with the company.

Speaking in *The Predator of Seville*, Vega claims Blanco Vela was the main tour guide and that he initially seemed "friendly" and excited to show the group around.

On the last night of the trip, Vega recalls Blanco Vela encouraging everyone to stay in the hotel for safety. She and her two roommates hung out at the hotel bar, and Blanco Vela eventually joined them. He offered to order champagne, and they all agreed to hang out with him in their room.

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Vega says that's when things started to feel off, alleging that Blanco Vela asked the girls invasive questions and took his pants off in front of them. At one point, Vega remembers feeling unwell and disoriented, to the point where she passed out. When she came to, she felt completely out of sync with her body, like her "brain was working on such a slow level."

She remembers making it to the bathroom, where she recalls seeing Blanco Vela in the shower with her roommates. They scurried out, and Vega went inside. Vega then claims that Blanco Vela followed her, hit her on the head, and sexually assaulted her.

The next morning, Vega says she found bruises on her knees. As memories of the night came back, she felt sick and overwhelmed. "It was, like, so vivid and visual and just, like, horrifying," she says.

Did other women come forward?

(Left to right) Mark Eiglarsh, Carly Van Ostenbridge, Hayley McAleese, Gabrielle Vega, and Megyn Kelly.

After sharing her story on Facebook, Vega connected with other women who had similar experiences with Blanco Vela.

In April 2018, she appeared on *Megyn Kelly Today* with two of them, Hayley McAleese and Carly Van Ostenbridge. During the interview, McAleese discussed the trip she and Carly took in May 2017. The pair, who were 19 at the time, went on a Discover Excursions trip to Lagos, Portugal. One night, the whole group went out to a bar.

At the end of the night, Blanco Vela allegedly came up to them and said the city wasn't safe, suggesting they walk back to the hotel together. He invited them to his room, where it ended up being just the three of them.

McAleese claimed his behavior shifted right away — he got "very sexual" and started asking inappropriate questions. He then asked them to dance for him, and Van Ostenbridge recalled how she tried to lighten the situation by doing a silly dance to break the tension. That didn't go over well. Blanco Vela allegedly told them they needed to do a "sexy dance" on top of him, which is when McAleese realized they needed to get out of there.

"At that point, he took us and pushed us against the counter, and tried to hold us and make us dance the way he wanted us to dance," McAleese explained to Kelly. "We obviously didn't want to, so we weren't making that easy for him."

McAleese claimed things escalated further when Blanco Vela told them they couldn't leave. She alleged he held her against the wall and kissed her, then grabbed Van Ostenbridge's hand and forced her to touch him. McAleese said she was able to push him off, but that he wouldn't let Van Ostenbridge go.

According to Van Ostenbridge, it was only after McAleese managed to open the hotel room door that he released her. The two ran out of the room and went to their friends' room to tell them everything. When they confronted Blanco Vela, he allegedly denied any wrongdoing and said that McAleese and Van Ostenbridge came onto him. The next day, Blanco Vela didn't show up, claiming he had a family emergency.**

What happened to Lauren Bajorek?

On a 2020 episode of the podcast *Motive*, Vega revealed that more than 50 women reached out to her and her lawyer about Blanco Vela's conduct following the Kelly interview. One message she received was from Carey Bajorek, who claimed that Blanco Vela killed her daughter, Lauren Bajorek.

Lauren was in her early 20s when she went to Spain. She died just a few weeks later on her 21st birthday after falling from the 10th floor of Blanco Vela's apartment.

As revealed in the doc, Lauren had gone out to celebrate her birthday with friends — Sarah, Ellie, and Lauren P. — and Blanco Vela joined them. Ellie and Lauren P. went home early, and Sarah and Lauren eventually ended up at Blanco Vela's apartment, where Lauren tragically fell to her death.

At the time, Blanco Vela said that Lauren jumped, though the police later ruled out a suicide. The truth of what happened remains unknown. What is known is that while Lauren and Sarah's blood-alcohol levels were high, Blanco Vela was sober.

The criminal case had already been dismissed by the time Carey hired a lawyer, Eduardo García, but they pursued civil proceedings. The court ultimately found Blanco Vela liable for negligence.

How did Manuel Blanco Vela get caught?

Manuel Blanco Vela during his trial via 'The Predator of Seville'.

Many of Blanco Vela's alleged victims didn't report what happened, often because they were in the U.S. or didn't know how to navigate Spain's legal system. Things started to change when Vega and other survivors began connecting online, sharing their stories, and documenting their experiences. After Vega appeared on TV, the allegations reached a much wider audience.

Her efforts went beyond media appearances. In early 2019, Vega noticed a website that looked a lot like Discover Excursions and appeared to have former employees working there. She suspected Blanco Vela might be running a new operation, so she alerted the U.S. embassy. A few days later, the embassy issued a warning about an alleged sexual predator in Seville and advised tourists to take precautions.

According to the docuseries, Vega spent months gathering statements from the women who had allegedly been assaulted. She compiled their accounts, had them answer questions, and coordinated translations into Spanish so the embassy could review everything. She even got her abuela to help translate the testimonies. Soon enough, a case was brought against Blanco Vela.

Where is Manuel Blanco Vela now?

Manuel Blanco Vela during his trial via 'The Predator of Seville'.

In February 2025, Blanco Vela was convicted of sexual assault by Spain's National Court. According to the documentary, he received eight and a half years in prison — six for Gabrielle Vega's case, and two and half for the assaults of Hayley McAleese and Carly Van Ostenbridge.

Local news outlets reported that Blanco Vela's sentence forbade him from working as a tour guide for seven and a half years. He was also ordered to pay €40,000 to Vega and €1,500 to McAleese and Van Ostenbridge.

A note in the doc mentions that Blanco Vela has appealed the conviction to the Spanish Supreme Court. He declined to speak for *The Predator of Seville*.******

Where can I watch The Predator of Seville?

*The Predator of Seville *is now streaming on Netflix.

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