Román's trial began three years later. The evidence against him was overwhelming. Bulnes was able to testify about their toxic relationship. A real blow to the defense came when Bulnes identified the suitcase as belonging to Román. When asked how she knew it was his, Bulnes said, "Because I helped him move when they moved to my house."

Sadly, the fire's intensity meant that the medical examiner couldn't establish a cause of death, although it's believed Paz might have been stabbed to death. "National Police, who were present at the autopsy of Heidi Paz’s torso, told the court that it had been cut," via the Madrid Metropolitan. Román suggested that Paz was "either living in her native Honduras or had been killed by an alleged organized drug gang," and maintained the remains in the suitcase didn't belong to his ex-fiancée.

On June 1, 2021, Román was sentenced to 15 years in prison and was ordered to pay nearly 250,000 euros to Bulnes. The El Heraldo reported that in April 2024, Román wrote a letter from the Soto del Real penitentiary center confessing his crimes. "I inform the Provincial Court of Madrid of my recognition of the crime committed, my regret and in which I ask for forgiveness from the victim's family," he wrote. He went on to say, "I want to humbly ask for forgiveness from Heidi's family and everyone affected by my deplorable actions."