Acid attack mastermind in court

The Eighth Section of the Malaga Court will hear evidence from Monday against a man known by the nickname ‘El melillero’, for his alleged relationship with the acid attack in January 2021 on his ex-girlfriend and a friend in the Malaga town of Cártama; facts for which the Prosecutor’s Office requests that he be sentenced to 51 and a half years in prison and accuses five other people.

The trial was initially scheduled for last June but was suspended because one of the lawyers underwent surgery, although it has been rescheduled to begin this Monday.

The Malaga Prosecutor’s Office considers that ‘El melillero’ supposedly masterminded this murder attempt, in which the other five defendants collaborated, one of them the one who threw the substance. He also understands that there is an aggravating factor of gender.

This is stated in the prosecutor’s provisional conclusions, in which this man is accused of two crimes of attempted murder – he requests 17 years in prison for each -, one of belonging to a criminal organisation – petition of seven years–, two of serious threats –two years for each crime–, another two of harassment –24 months in prison for each one– and one crime of habitual abuse –30 months in prison–.

According to the initial conclusions of the public prosecution, the defendants belong to an alleged organisation dedicated mainly to drug trafficking and occasionally to crimes against property, in which the chief suspect had, “chief functions” and the others fulfilled “subaltern functions according to what he ordered.”

The acid attack occurred on January 12, 2021 shortly after 2:00 p.m. in Cártama. The defendant and one of the victims had a romantic relationship between May and December 2020, but she broke it off, as he “disrespected” her, allegedly insulting and hitting her. He did not accept her breakup and was “obsessed with her,” the prosecutor says.

According to the public accusation, the main accused “devised a preconceived plan – both in the execution and in the subsequent evasion -” and supposedly in agreement with the other defendants, “taking advantage of the fact that he was the head of the organisation”, on the day of the events intercepted the passage of the vehicle in which the woman and her friend were traveling.

The prosecutor maintains that ‘El melillero’ supposedly acted “with the purpose of attacking her life, causing her the most extreme pain and with express contempt for her female gender, being his ultimate goal of humiliation, domination, subordination and objectification signed with his act, programmed extreme pain before ending her life and that of her companion.

The attack caused both “severe burns, having to leave the closed cabin to avoid asphyxiation from the acid”, while the main accused “laughed and looked, making sure of the result he had foreseen”.

Both victims suffered serious injuries and had to be rushed to a hospital to save their lives. In fact, the ex-girlfriend was burned with 45% of her total body surface, required 12 operations and has psychological consequences and aesthetic damage and loss of quality of life, as well as inability to perform her profession.

The other woman had 20% of her total body surface burned and had to undergo two interventions, and her injuries are considered to be stabilised at this time. Both suffer from severe post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological consequences.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the fact that the accused formed an organisation “facilitated the execution of the events.” In this sense, it is noted that ‘El melillero’ and his co-pilot supposedly “had already planned to spray acid” the day before what happened, since they were in Cártama and approached the vehicle in which the girls were traveling.

On that day, she told her ex-partner to roll down the passenger window, but she, getting scared, “didn’t do it,” despite which the main defendant allegedly intimidated her by “saying and pointing to another”: “This one is going to take care of you, he’s going to kill you”, making a sign of slitting her neck, so they both felt very afraid. He also threatened her days before, telling her that she was going to “destroy the pretty face she had.”

Likewise, in the initial document it is stated that days before the attack, he allegedly placed “without their consent and without their knowledge in the lower part of their respective vehicles – those of the two victims – two geolocation beacons to control their movements.”

In addition to the prison sentence, the prosecutor requests that the main defendant be prohibited from approaching the victims within 1,000 metres or communicating with them by any means for almost 50 years and in any case a prohibition from being or residing in Cártama for 20 years. Considers that circumstances exist that aggravate the gender and kinship penalty.

The rest of the defendants are accused of the two crimes of attempted murder and membership in a criminal organisation; adding in the case of the person who accompanied him in the car the accusation of a crime of serious threats, for which he requests more than 38 years in prison.

The prosecutor also requests that all defendants compensate the ex-girlfriend with 1.1 million euro and the friend with 312,522.22 euro for the injuries and consequences.

The post Acid attack mastermind in court appeared first on Spain Today – Breaking Spanish News, Sport, and Information.