Juan Carlos Aguilar

The trial of a self-styled 'Shaolin Master' accused of torturing and killing two women in Spain is to begin on Friday 17 April 2015.

Juan Carlos Aguilar, who previously ran a martial arts gym in Bilbao, stands accused of the murders of Nigerian Maureen Ada Otuya and Colombian Jenny Sofia Rebollo.

Aguilar, who claimed to have trained with Chinese monks and made several appearances on Spanish television, was arrested by Basque police in June 2013 while allegedly carrying out a savage attack on Otuya at his gym, Zen 4.

After luring Otuya to his gym, he reportedly tied and gagged her before proceeding to beat and torture her for several hours. However, his victim was finally able to crawl to the window and alert the police.

When officers arrived they found Otuya unconscious and Aguilar covered in blood. The woman, who worked as a prostitute, later died in hospital.

After his arrest, Aguilar also confessed to murdering Rebollo, whose remains were found scattered in the gymnasium as well as in his apartment. Police claim Aguilar took photos with his victim's body before dismembering it, removing her breast implants in the process.

Although some sections of the Spanish press originally claimed Rebollo was a prostitute, this has been vehemently denied by the victim's friends, who claim she worked as a hairdresser.

Police have said that Aguilar maintained a series of relationships with female students, while the lawyer representing Otuya's family has claimed he "enjoyed having sadistic sexual relations with defenseless women, beating them and then taking photographs."

The jury will be chosen on Friday, and then Aguilar will give his own testimony before the court. Spanish prosecutors have demanded that he be sentenced to 40 years in jail.