Glenn Wickman
A VALENCIA man is facing up to 25 years in prison for allegedly beating a friend to death with a hammer after the victim touched the suspect in an intimate manner.
The attack took place in the victim’s home on Teixedors street in Ontinyent (Vall d’Albaida, southern Valencia Province) on July 6, 2019.
During the trial that began this week, 43-year-old Manuel SL admitted hitting 66-year-old Horacio Gomez twice in the head with a hammer, although there is some confusion about the exact motive.
The accused himself claims he killed his friend in a haze of alcohol and drugs after the victim touched his genitals in a suggestive manner.
According to his version of events, he pushed his friend back and left the room.
Upon returning, Horacio allegedly showed him a hammer and compared it to Manuel’s penis, which is when the alleged killer snatched the tool from the other man and used it to hit him twice in the head, killing him on the spot.
In his defence, the suspected murderer claims he didn’t mean to kill his friend and that he was taken by surprise by Horacio’s advances, as he didn’t know that the other man was ‘a bit homosexual’, in his own words.
After the fatal attack, Manuel reportedly stole a mobile phone and jewellery from the victim, which he then sold in a pawn shop in nearby Xativa.
His defence team partially admit the crime and are calling for a penalty of no more than 15 years for murder and seven months for theft, with the attenuating circumstances of drug addiction and committing the crime while under the influence.
However, the prosecution tells a different story.
The autopsy reportedly shows that Horacio was hit up to 30 times in the head, not twice as claimed by the accused.
According to the prosecting party, Manuel attacked the victim from behind after an argument over the alleged theft of marihuana plants on behalf of Horacio’s nephews.
They add that the accused took advantage of the fact that Horacio, who had reportedly also consumed alcohol and illicit substances, had passed out on the floor to continue smashing in his head with the hammer until killing him.
The prosecution is calling for a 25-year prison sentence.
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