Three major trials mark the judicial autumn in Andalusia: Magrudis, 'El Baba' and Cerro Muriano
The Provincial Court of Seville will try the 2019 listeriosis outbreak from 16 October. Other notable cases begin in Huelva, Madrid and Cádiz.
The judicial calendar of autumn in Andalusia: listeriosis, shootings and deaths at a military base
According to ABC, three cases of major social impact will centre the activity of Andalusian courts in the final months of the year: the trial for the listeriosis outbreak linked to the Magrudis company, the proceedings against the man known as 'El Baba' for a fatal shooting in Huelva, and the process for deaths by drowning at the Cerro Muriano military base.
Magrudis: the 2019 listeriosis outbreak goes to trial on 16 October
On 16 October, the trial begins in the Provincial Court of Seville for the listeriosis outbreak that in 2019 caused four deaths and hundreds of people affected throughout Spain. The case originates from contaminated cured meat distributed by the Magrudis company.
In the dock sit the members of the family administration of the company, to whom the Public Prosecutor's Office is requesting sentences of between ten and eleven and a half years in prison. Also accused are the technical architect and the municipal veterinarian. The private prosecution, exercised by the association of affected persons, is demanding twelve years in prison for de facto administrator José Antonio Marín Ponce, and ten years and one day for the veterinarian.
'El Baba': a trial with resonances to the Isla Cristina shooting
On the same 16 October, the trial begins in the Provincial Court of Huelva against the man nicknamed 'El Baba', accused of the shooting on 10 September 2024 in the El Torrejón neighbourhood of Huelva, in which one person died.
The case regained prominence in August after another shooting in Isla Cristina on the 16th resulted in the deaths of three people: a 39-year-old woman pregnant in her eighth month—whose baby also died—, the mother of this woman and a 16-year-old boy unrelated to the other victims. The two women are, according to the investigation, sister and mother of 'El Baba', which leads investigators to point to a settling of scores directed against him as the motive.
Cerro Muriano: deaths by drowning at a military base
On 26 October, the trial will begin in the Justice Room of the Central Military Court in Madrid for the deaths of soldier Carlos León Rico and corporal Miguel Ángel Jiménez Andújar, who drowned in the artificial lake at the Cerro Muriano military base in Córdoba in December 2023.
The private prosecutions representing the families of both military personnel have requested sentences of between nine and ten years in prison for the four accused, their expulsion from the military career and payment of compensation of between 250,000 and 500,000 euros, with the State as civil defendant. The Public Prosecutor's Office, for its part, is seeking eight years in prison for Captain Zúñiga and five for Lieutenant Tato.
The fatal hit-and-run in Cádiz: trial from 22 September
The judicial calendar also sets a date for the incident that occurred on 9 October 2023 in Cádiz, when a bus mounted the pavement on the avenue leading to the Puente de La Constitución de 1812 bridge, struck several pedestrians and caused four deaths and several injuries. The trial begins on 22 September.
The Public Prosecutor's Office is requesting five years in prison for both the company owner and the vehicle driver, whom it considers responsible for four counts of reckless homicide, as well as compensation of over 500,000 euros for those affected.
Kidnapping of former councillor from Maracena: hearing in November in Granada
On 16 November, the trial will be held in the Provincial Court of Granada against the man accused of kidnapping Vanessa Romero in February 2023, who had been a socialist councillor in Maracena. According to the prosecution, the defendant got into her car, threatened her with a replica pistol and immobilised her hands and feet before putting her in the boot.
The case generated a political earthquake locally: the defendant was at that time partner of the then acting mayor of Maracena, Berta Linares, who resigned and renounced her post as councillor following months of media attention. The Public Prosecutor's Office is requesting eight years in prison for a count of unlawful detention, a minor count of assault and a third count of psychological injury.
Ongoing investigations: Adamuz, Los Gallardos and other recent incidents
Apart from the scheduled trials, several investigations remain open into serious incidents. The Adamuz rail accident on 18 January, in which 46 people died and another 120 were injured, is pending analysis of rail sections by laboratories, carried out by the Civil and Investigation Department of Montoro.
The case concerning the fire on 9 July in Los Gallardos (Almería), in which 14 people died, is progressing in the Court of First Instance in Vera. The court has so far recognised the status of private prosecution to relatives of eight of the fourteen victims.
Almería courts are also processing two other cases: the death of four-year-old boy Lucas in Garrucha in December 2025, allegedly at the hands of his mother and her boyfriend; and the murder in the town of Puente del Río of a member of the clan known as 'Los Lateros', allegedly carried out by the man nicknamed 'Saúl el viejo'.
In Málaga, the investigation is progressing around the murder of a 25-year-old woman in Campillos, whose ex-partner presented himself at the Guardia Civil barracks in Martos and is believed to have been arrested as the suspected perpetrator of the death. The case in Rincón de la Victoria also remains open, with its development pending judicial developments.
Source: ABC