MADRID (AFP) — A Spanish court has sentenced a Pakistani man to 36 years in jail for murdering three elderly siblings over debts reportedly linked to an online romance scam.

A jury in October convicted Dilawar Hussain of killing the two sisters and their disabled brother in Morata de Tajuna, near Madrid, in December 2023.

In November, a Madrid court sentenced Hussain to 12 years in jail for each murder, citing a “psychological alteration” as a mitigating factor, according to a copy of the ruling seen by Agence France-Presse on Friday.

Hussain has appealed the sentence.

Hussain, 44, turned himself in to police and admitted the killings after the siblings’ partially burned bodies were found in their home.

The siblings, who were in their 70s, had been beaten to death, possibly with an iron bar.

When he took the stand at his trial, Hussain asked for forgiveness, saying he had “heard voices” and “was not in my right mind.”

Neighbors told Spanish media the tragedy was linked to a fake online love affair, in which the two sisters believed they were in long-distance relationships with two United States servicemen.

They were led to believe one of the servicemen had died and that the other needed money to cover costs so he could send them a share of a multi-million-euro inheritance, causing the sisters to rack up significant debts.