How can Jonathan Andic defend himself against the homicide charge?
The ruling by the judge in Martorell charging the son of Mango's owner with his father Isak Andic's death provides several clues compiled in the police report that the defence will now challenge in a counter-report drawn up using advanced technology evidence
Jonathan Andic facing homicide: the defence strategy
The detention of Jonathan Andic, eldest son of Isak Andic—founder of Mango who died in December 2024 after falling over a cliff in Montserrat—has resulted in a formal charge of alleged homicide. The judge in the case set his bail at one million euros. According to La Vanguardia, the next decisive move now falls to the defence of the accused.
A counter-report with 3D reconstructions
The investigation by the Mossos d'Esquadra police force lasted 14 months. In parallel, Andic's legal team has been gathering its own evidence to support the claim that his father's death was an accident. Mayka Navarro, crime reporter for La Vanguardia and author of the initial report on the detention, details that the defence's technical experts have carried out "countless reconstructions of the facts with specialist technicians".
The evidence includes cameras brought from the United States that record with 3D drones, as well as the use of dummies similar to those employed by motor manufacturers to simulate accidents. The aim is to present a counter-report that dismantles the clues gathered by the police.
The decision rests with the judge and the prosecutor
Once that counter-report is presented, both the magistrate and the prosecutor in the case will have to assess whether the evidence provided by the defence is sufficient to prevent the proceedings from reaching oral trial. However, Navarro believes that it will be "difficult" for Andic to avoid that judicial step.
The judge's charge document holds that Jonathan Andic's alleged action to end his father's life was "premeditated and prepared". If the evidence were to confirm this, according to Navarro, the classification of the facts could be raised from homicide to murder, with considerably more serious criminal consequences.
The steps the case will follow
The process will now enter a phase of expert confrontation between the police clues and the defence's technological evidence. The assessment of that material will determine whether the case proceeds to trial or whether the judge and prosecutor believe that the accused's arguments raise sufficient doubts about his responsibility.
Andic has maintained from the outset that his father's death was accidental. The three-dimensional reconstruction of events that occurred in the Montserrat mountain now constitutes the central pillar of that version, which must now survive judicial scrutiny.
Source: La Vanguardia