Tortosa sentences the Ebre killer to 18 years: "He died drowned"

The Tarragona Court of Appeal has sentenced the man found guilty of murdering another in Tortosa and throwing him into the Ebre River to 18 years in prison. The sentence also sets compensation and restraining measures for the victim’s family members.

It all started after a card game at a property in the Llet ravine on March 29, 2024. Hours later, the body ended up in the river with a stone weighing about 40 kilos tied to the leg; the convicted man’s brother-in-law, accused of concealment, is released due to the exemption provided by the Penal Code.

What has the Tarragona Court of Appeal ruled?

An 18-year murder sentence in Tortosa

For the readers of the Terres de l’Ebre region, the key fact is clear: the main defendant must serve 18 years in prison for the crime of murder. The jury declared him guilty and the presiding judge of the Fourth Section of the Tarragona Court of Appeal drafted the proven facts in accordance with that verdict.

The ruling considers it proven that the man struck the victim with an iron bar in several sensitive areas, including the head and neck. The judge sees treachery here, because the man was on the ground and under the influence of alcohol, without a real chance to defend himself.

The penalty falls within the range of 15 to 20 years provided for the crime under the circumstances found. The sentence also points out that the assault included approximately ten blows, some with great intensity, and that the victim suffered “intense” pain before dying from mechanical asphyxia by submersion.

Restraining order, probation, and civil liability

In addition to the prison sentence, the convicted man may not approach within 300 meters of the victim’s family members nor communicate with them for 20 years. Upon release, he must also serve seven years of probation.

The resolution sets compensation amounts for the mother, sister, and daughter of the victim. The indicated amounts are 40,000 euros for the mother, 30,000 for the sister, and 60,000 for the daughter; the sentence specifies that the convicted man will assume 80% of these amounts, while his brother-in-law will have to cover 20%.

• Mother: 40,000 euros.
• Sister: 30,000 euros.
• Daughter: 60,000 euros.
• Amount assigned to the main convicted: 104,000 euros.
• Amount assigned to the brother-in-law: 26,000 euros.

The sum of the individual compensations included in the ruling and the distribution of civil liability it contains present different figures; the judicial text sets, on the one hand, the amounts destined to the family members and, on the other, the percentage corresponding to each of the two defendants.

How did the events at the Ebre River occur?

From the card game at the Llet ravine to the assault

The property at the Llet ravine in Tortosa hosted a card game on March 29, 2024. Several people attended, including the two defendants and the man who would end up dying. Around two in the morning, there was a first argument because the victim did not want to leave the party as the other participants had done.

According to the proven facts, a second argument occurred hours later. The main defendant grabbed an iron bar and struck the victim several times. The other defendant did not participate in this assault, the Court expressly points out.

The judge considers that the victim’s state of alcohol intoxication prevented him from defending himself. The sentence also states that no prior conflict between the two men was proved beyond their presence in that card game.

Why did the body appear in the river weeks later?

The body was found on April 17, 2024, at 1:20 p.m., floating in the Ebre River and in an advanced state of decomposition. The cause of death was acute respiratory failure caused by mechanical asphyxia due to submersion.

After the assault, the two defendants wrapped the victim with tape from the company where one of them worked. Then they placed the body in the convicted man’s vehicle and tied a stone weighing about 40 kilos, taken from a trampoline on the property, to his leg.

Around 6:50 a.m., they headed to the Campredó neighborhood, to the area known as Font de Quinto. They accessed the river via a dirt path and threw the body in. The stone tied to the leg explains, according to the ruling, the method used to sink it.

What happens to the second defendant?

Convicted of concealment, but without prison sentence

The second man has been declared guilty of concealment because, according to the verdict, he helped transport the body to the Ebre River. The Court bases this on the fact that the victim was a stocky man and showed no injuries compatible with being dragged.

The Prosecutor’s Office requested 25 years in prison for both defendants and, subsidiarily, three years for the one investigated for concealment. The defenses requested acquittal. The jury, however, clearly distinguished between who carried out the assault and who helped conceal the crime.

Why is the brother-in-law released?

The brother-in-law is released because article 454 of the Penal Code exempts certain relatives who conceal a family member. The sentence considers it proven that both are brothers-in-law, that is, siblings by affinity, and applies this exemption clause.

Therefore, the judge convicts him of concealment but does not impose the three-year penalty. The Court orders his immediate release and lifts any other personal precautionary measures that were in effect.

The trial was held from July 7 to 10. During the sessions, the jury found the main defendant guilty of murder and his brother-in-law of concealment. The case leaves a strong legal difference: the same sequence of events, two criminal responsibilities, and a very different final consequence.

The Tortosa sentence sets 18 years in prison for the perpetrator of the murder, protection measures for the family, and civil liability shared between the two defendants. The brother-in-law, although convicted of concealment, is released due to the legal exemption applicable to relatives by affinity. The Ebre River was the final point of a crime that began at a property in the Llet ravine.

Source of the article: Mar Rovira / Catalan News Agency