Laurence Dollimore
THE stepmother of Gabriel Cruz claimed she killed the boy with an axe in self defence.
Ana Julia Quezada, the only prime suspect in the case, claims the boy got in her car and was planning to help her paint the house on a family estate in nearby Rodalquillar that the boy’s father was renovating.
The expat claims once they were there, Gabriel became angry with her and attacked her with an axe.
She claims she managed to get it off him and hit him with the blunt end of the tool, knocking him unconscious.
She strangled him in a state of panic, before taking off his clothes and burying the body.
The alleged murder weapon has yet to be found, despite police searching for it.
They have now found the clothes which she dumped in a bin some 30km away from the murder scene.
A judge heading the case in Almeria still has unanswered questions.
He will want to know why the property where the boy was killed was not inspected earlier and whether or not Quezada took him there with the intent to murder him.
She will be handed over to the justice system today.
A couple of points.
1) She is not his Stepmother, she is not married to the Father.
2) She did not kill him with an Axe but knocked him unconscious.
3) She did not strangle him but held her hands over his mouth and nose and suffocated him.