Laurence Dollimore
SIMON Corner will be released after a Spanish judge has shelved the probe against the prime suspect in the Lisa Brown murder case.
Judge Garcia Ramila made the shock decision today after Corner was arrested at London Heathrow airport last week after going on the run.
The judge acted after state prosecutors requested he ‘freeze’ his two-and-a-half year investigation into Corner despite the expat making himself a fugitive by going on the run after he was given bail by a court in San Roque, Cadiz.
The 35-year-old will now not be extradited to Spain to face trial over Lisa’s disappearance.
He will be set free from his London cell where he has been held since last Monday.
Five other suspects in the case have also had their bail conditions lifted by the same judge.
They are now free to go about their daily lives.
Corner can can still be tried if Lisa’s body is found and new evidence against him comes to light.
The judge announced his decision in a 10-page written ruling, insisting he was legally obliged to take into account the ‘lack of concrete proof’ ‘of Corner’s involvement in Lisa’s disappearance from Guadario in November 2015 and describing his investigation as being at ‘a point of no return.’
The investigation so far has revealed there was a violent struggle at the Scottish expat’s home, which she shared on and off with Corner.
But Judge Garcia Ramila, in charge at San Roque’s Court of Investigation number 2, said: “This court has serious doubts Simon Corner is the person responsible for the crimes of homicide or unlawful detention being investigated.
“That is because of the testimony of the witness who says she saw Lisa Brown driving her Ford Focus near her home on the morning of November 6, 2015, and because no material evidence he actively participated in Lisa’s disappearance has been obtained despite multiple inquiries against Simon over the past two and a half years.”
Insisting he had to be guided by the principle of ‘in dubio pro reo’ – a Latin expression which is a rough equivalent to the maxim ‘innocent until proven guilty’, he added: “This principle must guide us towards understanding that the proof against Simon at this stage doesn’t have the sufficient weight to be able to continue sustaining his prosecution.
“This principle can be extrapolated to the other people under investigation for allegedly cooperating with him in his supposed crime.”
Police have yet to comment officially but sources said the investigation will continue.
