Gangland killers of seven-year-old boy in Marbella will NEVER be punished due to this Spanish law

THE horrific killing of a seven-year-old boy in Marbella will go unpunished, a court has ruled.

Little Jose Manuel was brutally shot to death in a gangland assassination gone wrong at the H10 Andalucia Plaza hotel on December 4, 2004.

The young boy was playing in the arcade when three men armed with AK-47 rifles pulled up in an Audi A4 and opened fire.

According to police, the real target was Alex B, aka El Chacal, an alleged informant and ex-convict who was in the Cosmo hair salon on the ground floor of the hotel.

However they missed their target, killing little Jose and 36-year-old hairdresser Cosimo Pizzi in the process.

Jose’s aunt was also seriously injured when she was shot while trying to protect her nephew.

Since more than 20 years has passed, Spanish law dictates that the statute of limitations has expired.

The High Court of Justice of Andalucia (TSJA) has now confirmed that the crimes will no longer be punishable.

It’s a kick in the teeth to the loved ones of the victims who have spent large sums of money on investigations to try and find those responsible.

The three hitmen ‘sprayed’ the hotel with bullets, not caring about the civilians caught in the crossfire.

One flowerpot, which three women and children were hiding behind, was hit by 28 bullets.

The police investigation focused on Alex B’s links to criminal gangs, but after two years of intense work, they found no significant clues as to who was behind the hit.

They tapped phones and probed an Arab mafia and paramilitary organisations, but came up with nothing.

One friend of Alex B mysteriously vanished following the shooting but was never tracked down.