Alex Trelinski
THE Supreme Court(TSJ) has ordered the retrial of a Dutch man convicted of murdering a British expat in order to steal €550 from her purse.
The TSJ, according to the regional Informacion newspaper, says there were irregularities in the judge’s instructions to the jury which may have influenced their deliberations.
The body of Margaret McNulty, 70, was found in her Granja de Rocamora home in November 2019, where she lived on her own after her husband died in 2005.
Handyman Nicholas Pijnenborg was found guilty of murder and robbery at his Alicante trial last September.
Alicante Provincial Court then sentenced him to 25 years and six months in prison.
Last year’s trial heard that Mrs.McNulty had been brutally assaulted by Pijnenborg who she knew for four years.
He popped round to ask for a loan and when she pulled €50 out of her purse, he noticed that she had a lot more cash in it.
Pijnenborg grabbed her by the neck and threw her to the floor, before punching and kicking her to death.
He then stole €550 and spent some of it that evening in nightclubs.
Guardia investigations were kept secret for eight months including Pijnenborg’s arrest in the Crevillente area in January 2020.
A reconstruction(pictured at top) of what happened on that fateful November day was carried out in July 2020 when details of the probe were made public.
Pijnenborg admitted his guilt to the Guardia Civil in his original statement but then failed to get a plea bargain deal involving 15 years in jail.
His lawyer argued that he stole the money because he was a drug addict and he needed Mrs. McNulty’s cash to buy drugs.
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