Judge orders trial of Santi Laiglesia for death of Helena Jubany after 25 years
A judge in Sabadell has ordered Santi Laiglesia to stand trial for the murder of librarian Helena Jubany in 2001. The family and the Public Prosecutor's Office are seeking 26 years in prison based on DNA evidence found 20 years later.
Case reopened following DNA discovery
According to elmundo.es, the investigating judge in Sabadell has ordered Santi Laiglesia to stand trial for the death of Helena Jubany, a 27-year-old librarian who was thrown from the roof of number 48 Calvet d'Estrella street in Sabadell in the early hours of 2 December 2001. The trial will be held at the Barcelona Provincial Court before a jury. Both the private prosecution, conducted by the family, and the Public Prosecutor's Office are calling for 26 years in prison for the accused.
The case had remained stalled for two decades until, in 2021, a new report from the Biology and DNA Laboratory of the General Directorate of Scientific Police determined that the genetic material found on the back of the victim's jumper was "26 trillion times more likely" to belong to Laiglesia than to any other person. This discovery reactivated the investigation and led to the arrest of the suspect in December of last year.
The circumstances of the crime
On the night of 2 December 2001, police found the naked body of Helena Jubany with burns on various parts of her body in the light well of the building. According to the investigating magistrate, the accused and other unidentified individuals would have drugged the victim before moving her to the roof, where they would have stripped her naked and immediately thrown her off.
In a flat in the same building lived Montse Careta, Laiglesia's partner at the time. Careta was investigated for the crime but took her own life a few weeks after being detained as a suspect, always maintaining that she had nothing to do with the murder.
The defence rejects the DNA evidence
During the preliminary hearing held this Friday, Laiglesia's defence argued possible cross-contamination of the jumper containing the incriminating DNA, contending that the genetic material could have come into contact with the garment because Laiglesia was an intern at the law firm of the lawyer representing Montse Careta and had access to the evidence during the investigation. However, the judge dismissed this argument and ordered the case to proceed to trial.
The investigating judge stated in her ruling that "there are indications that he himself actively participated in all or some of the acts described". She considered that the presence of Laiglesia's DNA on the jumper "places him at the scene of the crime and at the time it occurred, objectively revealing physical contact between the contact and the deceased", compatible with both physical assault and a procedure to remove clothing prior to the throw.
Remand and provisional release
Laiglesia spent five weeks in remand custody following his appearance before the Sabadell courts in December of last year. However, the Barcelona Provincial Court upheld the appeal presented by his defence and released him provisionally whilst awaiting trial.
Regarding the chain of custody of the evidence, the defence also questioned the validity of the indications and insisted on the possibility of contamination when the evidence was handled. The lawyer for the private prosecution, Benet Salellas, representing the Jubany family, refuted these arguments at Friday's hearing.
Additionally, court sources have confirmed that the private prosecution pointed out another irregularity: Helena Jubany's underwear, which was present at the time of her death, disappeared from the envelope in which it was kept during the investigation.
Dismissal of another investigated party
The magistrate has agreed to the provisional dismissal of the case with respect to Xavier Jiménez, after confirming that neither the Public Prosecutor's Office nor the private prosecution requested the opening of oral proceedings in his case. This case, which began 25 years ago, now enters a decisive phase following the discovery of DNA evidence that has made it possible to reactivate an investigation that appeared to have stalled.
Source: Google News ES — Crime (es)