Sentenced to two years and seven months in prison for killing in self-defense the man who was going to burn him alive in his house

Manuel Marraco Madrid

Madrid

Updated Monday, April 1, 2024-01:23

The

Provincial Court of Valencia

has sentenced a man who killed another who was burning his shed with him inside to two years and seven months in prison. In addition, he will have to compensate the parents of the arsonist with almost 150,000 euros.

The jury that studied the case ruled out applying the full defenses of self-defense and insurmountable fear. He acknowledged that Jesús A. suffered "a situation of panic and terror," but considers that his reaction was "disproportionate."

"The accused acted due to

the situation of panic and terror

that he felt, caused by the black smoke that invaded the room and the fire, fearing for his life or being seriously injured and driven by the need to defend himself from the attack he was suffering," he summarizes. the magistrate drafting the sentence, in accordance with what the jury considered proven in its verdict. "But his reaction," he continues, "was disproportionate and excessive since the accused could have acted causing a less serious harm than the one he produced."

The ruling does not say what other actions he could have taken. At the trial, the prosecution and the family of the deceased indicated that, for example, he had not shouted to scare away those who were setting the fire.

It happened like this: Shortly after

dawn on June 21, 2021

, two men parked their car between some fruit trees in

Torrella (Valencia)

, knocked down a fence and approached the now convicted man's booth stealthily. He lived there, although it has not been proven that they knew he was inside.

Window through which gasoline was thrown.EL MUNDO

"They proceeded to spray the main door of the booth with gasoline," explains the sentence, "and then introduced [the] bottle of gasoline through the hole in the blind of one of the windows of the main façade, throwing gasoline inside. of said booth, and setting fire to said jug, as well as the aforementioned blinds and the main door.

The dog's barking woke up the owner, who was in bed. With the room already full of smoke, he glimpsed the can that someone was putting through the window and heard a voice saying

"turn it on, turn it on

. "

He grabbed a five-foot spear that he had made himself, with a 8-inch knife. To the extreme. He swung it through the window with the intention of knocking the can away. One of the movements hit the man who was spraying the gasoline. The cut was fatal because it affected the iliac vein. Héctor C. bled to death quickly.

Jesús A. managed to leave the house "through the gap in a loose bar in the window located in the hallway [...], faced with the impossibility of escaping the fire through the main door that was burning, and with no other escape alternative "explains the sentence. He did not chase the men, but instead called Emergency Services. He explained what happened to the Civil Guard in a story that the jury accepted.

Prosecutor

Isabel Company

requested 14 years for the accused for homicide - the dead man's family, 23 for murder -, without any defense or mitigation. She did not consider legitimate defense to reduce the sentence despite the fact that, as the defense lawyer,

Cristina Subiela

, highlighted, in the same trial the prosecutor accused the arsonist who survived of attempted murder. That man was acquitted as it was not proven that he knew that the owner of the booth was inside.

"Unprovoked illegitimate attack"

"There is no doubt that waking up abruptly due to the barking of a dog and seeing that some individuals are throwing fuel in an attempt to burn the house, with no possibility of escape because there is no other suitable exit other than the door where the aggressors were, it is natural that produced a notable psychological impact that motivated him to defend himself against an illegitimate unprovoked attack, although the Jury did not appreciate a proportionate reaction," the sentence indicates.

The jury concluded that the main defendant did not intend to kill the assailant, nor did he see it likely that it could happen. Magistrate

Jesús María Huerta

opts for a conviction for intentional injuries in conjunction with reckless homicide (which aggravates the penalty for injuries, but is not a second conviction).

To this applies the reduction of one degree of the sentence for the incomplete defense of legitimate defense, as well as the mitigating defense of confession, having reported everything to the Civil Guard and collaborated with them. The result is two years and seven months in prison.

Such a conviction would mean effective entry into prison, but in this case Jesús A. has already served

two years and eight months of preventive detention

. The president of the court released him as soon as he learned that the jury rejected voluntary manslaughter and thus ruled out the higher sentences.

The sentence is not final. It can be appealed to the

Superior Court of Justice

and, subsequently, to the Supreme Court.