Jury unanimously finds defendant guilty in Sabiote murder case: murder and sexual assault
A jury unanimously convicted Ginés R. M. of the murder and sexual assault of Carmen Pérez, 74, in Sabiote in 2024. The prosecution is seeking a reviewable life sentence.
Unanimous verdict in trial for Carmen Pérez's murder in Sabiote
The tension that had accumulated over days in the Provincial Court of Jaén was resolved on Thursday afternoon with a stark verdict. According to jaenhoy.es, the jury unanimously found Ginés R. M., known as 'el follagallinas', guilty of an aggravated murder charge by treachery in order to cover up a prior sexual assault against a particularly vulnerable person, a charge of sexual assault with the introduction of objects through the anal and vaginal passages, a charge of robbery with violence in a dwelling and another charge of motor vehicle theft with violence.
The defendant, 41, remained throughout the session with a fixed gaze and impassive expression, as he had throughout the four days the trial lasted, which began the previous Monday. The tribunal spokesman read out the verdict amid sudden silence in the courtroom. Several family members of Carmen Pérez, 74, the victim of the crime committed in Sabiote in 2024, thanked the jury with tears for having delivered "justice".
What has been established as proven
The jury accepted entirely the account sustained by the prosecution and the private prosecution brought by the victim's children. According to the facts established as proven, Ginés, a habitual offender with 39 previous arrests for robberies and other crimes, entered Carmen's home in the dead of night by climbing over the town's wall, which runs along the back of several houses, with the intention of robbing. The victim was asleep.
Once inside, he immobilised the elderly woman by positioning himself on top of her, covered her head with a bag, beat her, and stabbed a pointed instrument into her shoulder six times. He then sexually assaulted her with either a body part or an unidentified object and, to prevent her from reporting him—since Carmen knew him—he strangled her to death.
After the crime, Ginés sprayed bleach over the body, the bedroom and its surroundings to eliminate DNA traces. He took several objects: a grill plate, bottles of oil, handcuffs which Carmen's grandchildren played with, a fake pistol and the keys to the victim's car. On leaving, he placed the victim's pyjamas and sheets in an unoccupied house and drove the vehicle to a hostess club in Úbeda that he frequented, where he unsuccessfully attempted to sell the grill plate and bottles.
The discovery of the crime
On the afternoon of 7 May 2024, Carmen's neighbours began to grow concerned at not seeing her all day. According to testimonies collected during the trial, she was a very active woman who used to attend mass and even the gym. The parish priest of the town alerted Carmen's brother, a Civil Guard, who asked his colleagues in Sabiote to check on the state of the dwelling.
Officers arrived around ten o'clock at night. No one answered the door and when they tried to open it with a key kept by a neighbour, they were unable to because the chain was locked from inside. "When we entered we got a strong smell of bleach," declared one of the officers during the trial. Carmen was found naked in one of the first rooms, with marks of violence on her neck and face. The room was very disorderly and there were traces of ash near the door. The judicial protocol was immediately activated and no one accessed the dwelling, apart from medical services, until the arrival of the Judicial Police.
The investigation that led to the defendant
Two officers confirmed during the trial that whoever entered Carmen's home necessarily had to do so by way of the wall, given that the door showed no signs of having been forced. A witness reported having seen that night in the neighbourhood a man known for breaking into other people's homes, which guided the investigation from the outset.
Upon consulting police databases, investigators located several court citations of the suspect linked to the hostess club in Úbeda. Upon reviewing security footage from the premises, they found that the defendant had arrived in a vehicle similar to Carmen's.
Sentences sought and next steps
The verdict coincides entirely with the position of the prosecution and the private prosecution. The Public Ministry is seeking a reviewable life sentence for Ginés for the murder charge, which would mean a minimum of 25 years in prison before being eligible for review. In addition, it seeks 15 years in prison for the sexual assault charge, a further five years for robbery with violence in a dwelling and another five for vehicle theft. The prosecutor also claims compensation of €250,000 for Carmen's children. The private prosecution fully endorsed these claims.
The defence had attempted to cast doubt on their client's guilt by alleging the absence of direct witnesses and arguing that the defendant was under the influence of cocaine the night of the crime, which occurred between 6 and 7 May 2024. They sought outright acquittal with a complete exemption on grounds of drug addiction. The nine members of the jury ruled out applying any mitigating circumstance for drug use and, furthermore, expressly requested that the sentence contain no possibility of pardon.
It now falls to the judge to draft the sentence, in which the definitive scope of the punishment will be determined.
Source: Google News ES — Crime (es)