The High Court of Justice of Andalusia (TSJA) has ratified the sentence of 15 years and eight months in prison imposed on A.G.F. for the death of a 74-year-old lottery seller in Albox (Almería), whom he attacked in her home in the early morning of September 10, 2021, to rob her, before causing a traffic accident with a stolen car that same night.
In its resolution, the high Andalusian court rejects in its entirety the appeals filed by both the defense of the accused and the private prosecution, and confirms the sentence issued in the first instance, which also set an compensation of 90,000 euros for each of the deceased's two children.
The decision of the TSJA upholds the sentences agreed upon by the Provincial Court of Almería: ten years and ten months in prison for a crime of homicide and another four years and ten months for a crime of robbery with violence in an inhabited house with the use of weapons or dangerous means.
The ruling now upheld corresponds to the second trial held for these events, after the TSJA itself ordered the hearing to be repeated upon finding a lack of motivation in the first sentence issued by the jury court.
The Appeals Chamber dismisses the defense's arguments, which invoked a violation of the right to the presumption of innocence, and concludes that the popular jury explained in an "extensive and reasoned" manner the indications that led them to consider the accused responsible for the violent death of the victim.
Among these elements, the TSJA emphasizes that the aggressor was known to the woman, as the padlock, the key, and the chain of the outer gate of the house where the crime occurred were found under his body and showed no signs of having been forced.
The sentence also highlights the discovery of biological remains under the fingernails of seven of the victim's fingers, with a Y-chromosome haplotype matching that of the accused, although without full identifying value. It also includes the call that A.G.F. made to his mother after the traffic accident, in which he asked her to buy him two tracksuits, two pairs of underwear, and to burn all the clothes he had at home.
The Third Section of the Almería Court had already considered it proven that the accused, who knew the lottery seller because he lived about 200 meters from her house, went to her home between 2:30 and 4:00 AM "with the aim of obtaining illicit enrichment," knowing that she lived alone and that she usually kept cash from the street sale of lottery tickets.
When the woman opened the door, A.G.F. stabbed her multiple times with a knife or razor with the intention of ending her life. The victim suffered about nine wounds to the neck, one to the chest, and another to the right hand as she tried to defend herself, dying from hemorrhagic shock after the tearing of the jugular vein.
After leaving her lying on the floor, the convicted man took a black purse with money and valuables, personal documents, and two mobile phones that have not been found or expert-valued.
The high Andalusian court also dismisses the appeal of the private prosecution, which requested an increase in the sentence. The Chamber understands that the conviction set by the Provincial Court is duly substantiated and in accordance with the law, by applying the mitigating circumstance of drug addiction recognized by the jury, which declared it proven that the accused had a slightly diminished capacity to control his actions and understand what he was doing due to his severe addiction to narcotic substances.