Quick LinksWhat Did Cesar Do to Heidi Paz? Where Is Cesar Roman Now?

Summary

Cesar Roman, a successful chef turned murderer, was convicted in 2021 after killing his girlfriend.
Roman killed Heidi Paz and dismembered her in 2018 before hiding her remains in a suitcase.
After confessing to the murder in 2024, Roman is serving a 15-year sentence in a Madrid prison.

Released on May 10, 2024, Cooking Up Murder: Uncovering the Story of Cesar Roman is a shocking true-crime Netflix docuseries that bears further scrutiny. The three-part miniseries concerns the high-profile murder case of Cesar Roman, a celebrated Spanish chef who was arrested in 2018 after his girlfriend’s corpse was found chopped up, burned, and placed in a suitcase. Maintaining his innocence at every turn, Roman became the Spanish media’s public enemy number one as the police worked to prove his guilt.

Two years after Heidi Paz’s body was found, Roman was put on trial for murder. The docuseries recounts Roman’s rise to prominence in Spain’s culinary culture, his fall from grace, immoral behavior, criminal endeavors, and his legal trial. Although it took the authorities roughly three years to convict Roman, a few confusing twists and turns in the real-life murder case have left some viewers wondering what exactly happened to Roman and where he is now. As such, it’s worth clarifying the true story of Cesar Roman and his relationship with Heidi Paz.

Who Is Cesar Roman?
Netflix

Dubbed the “King of Cachopo” in Spain, Cesar Roman was a celebrated chef and popular restaurateur in Madrid known for opening a chain of eateries called A Canada. The restaurants specialized in Cachopo, deep-fried veal steak sandwiches with ham and cheese in the middle. After opening the first location, the Venezuelan-born Roman expanded with four more restaurants in the next 18 months. As seen in the Netflix true-crime documentary, Roman exuded an air of success later refuted by the Spanish media.

For instance, to create positive publicity for his restaurants, Roman fabricated several awards and accolades A Canada received (per El Pais). Furthermore, despite boasting of the restaurant’s financial success, ABC Madrid reported that A Canada was bankrupt. As a clearer picture of Roman’s dishonesty became sharper, the once-celebrated chef went into hiding around the time his then-girlfriend, Heidi Paz, suddenly vanished.

Who Is Heidi Paz?
Netflix

Heidi Paz Bulnes was a 25-year-old Honduran immigrant who began working as a server for A Canada in April 2018. Paz and Roman began dating almost immediately, and despite the brevity of their romance, the two planned on living together (per La Vanguardia). However, by June 2018, Paz told Roman she no longer wanted to see him. According to Paz’s mother, Roman was extremely jealous, controlling, manipulative, and abusive (via Madrid Metropolitan).

After leaving a note telling Roman that she never wanted to see him again in June 2018, Paz’s family filed a missing person report for her on July 23, 2018. Roughly three weeks later, on August 13, 2018, a small warehouse went up in flames in Madrid’s Usera area. When firefighters arrived to put out the blaze, they discovered a burned suitcase beside a puddle of blood. Inside the case, the firefighters found a human corpse hacked to pieces and burned post-mortem, with only a torso left behind. Although it took roughly three years, the remains were proven to belong to Heidi Paz.

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What Did Cesar Do to Heidi Paz?
Netflix

The stunning Netflix true-crime series explains how Roman executed Paz. On July 30, 2018, one week after Paz was reported missing, Roman went into hiding and abandoned his outstanding debts. Yet, despite his lack of funds, police investigators proved that Roman had been renting the warehouse where Paz’s charred and dismembered corpse was found. According to El Pais, Roman was the only person with a key to access the property. With no signs of illegal trespassing, the evidence pointed to Roman’s guilt.

Upon tracing his phone calls, investigators learned that Roman had telephoned a taxi and was driven to the warehouse crime scene on August 5, 2018. The taxi driver confirmed Roman’s delivery to the police, and it was just a matter of time before Roman was arrested. Roman went to great lengths to ensure Paz’s identity was never uncovered, including decapitation, delimbing, and covering the suitcase Paz’s torso was in with a caustic substance to dissolve DNA evidence. Despite the efforts, it took two-and-a-half months for the authorities to identify Paz’s DNA and prove that Roman murdered her.

Where Is Cesar Roman Now?
Netflix

In November 2018, the human remains found inside the burned suitcase were identified as belonging to Heidi Paz. The third and final episode of the docuseries focuses on Roman’s criminal trial, in which Roman pleads not guilty. In a far-fetched story relayed in the disturbing true-crime documentary, Roman claimed Paz was a victim of drug dealers and organized criminals. Despite his outlandish claims, Roman was convicted of murdering Paz in June 2021 and given a 15-year jail sentence.

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After being sentenced to serve 15 years in prison in a unanimous jury decision, Roman brazenly appealed the verdict in 2022. His appeal was denied, and he was legally upheld to pay “Over €140,000 to each of Paz’s children and €100,000 to her mother” (as reported by Today). Although Roman maintained his innocence throughout his legal trial, in April 2024, he finally confessed to killing Paz in a letter reported by El Herlado. In the letter, Roman lamented that he “cannot turn back time” and how he wanted to “make clear his regret” and “repair the damage” he caused by murdering Paz.

Although Roman confessed to killing Heidi Paz, his defense attorney maintains his innocence and has continued the appeal process. As it stands, Cesar Roman is currently serving a 15-year sentence at Soto del Real Penitentiary Center in Madrid. To this day, Heidi Paz’s head and limbs remain at large.

Cooking Up Murder is available to stream on Netflix.