Charlie Smith
A SEMI-naked Irish expat who died after a ‘drug-fueled rampage’ through an upmarket urbanization, did not suffer a fatal head injury, forensic experts have said.
The 36-year-old, named as ‘Carl’, was pronounced dead outside a luxury villa on a leafy estate in the El Paraiso area of Estepona on Monday.
Police arrested the owner of the property, a British man, 65, on charges of ‘reckless manslaughter’.
An autopsy carried out yesterday appeared to show that the man’s death was linked to the ‘multiple narcotic substances’ he had taken.
Those close to the investigation told Diario Sur that they had ruled out that the man died from a blow to the head.
The local paper reported the dead man as British, while the wife of the arrested Brit told the Olive Press the deceased is ‘Irish’.
It comes after CCTV footage appeared to show the man falling and hitting his head outside the €3.65 million five-bedroom home in Calle Arco de Piedra.
A Policia Nacional spokesperson told the Olive Press that there had been ‘an altercation’ before the man ‘fell and smacked his head’ at around 10:40pm on Monday.
The homeowner is said to have ‘grabbed the man’s arm to stop him entering the property’ before he fell backwards and started having seizures.
Worried neighbours reported an ‘injured man’ who ‘had difficulty standing’ but paramedics and officers could not save him.
In the hours before his death he was spotted running around in his underpants and was filmed ‘crawling around outside the main gate of the house’.
Policia Local officers had been sent to remove the man from the area after he ran through gardens and down the street in just his underwear.
The wife of the arrested Brit told the Olive Press on Wednesday that the intruder had been ‘causing havoc’.
She said: “The Irish guy was running over our roof and was jumping in the swimming pool without a shirt on.
“He’d taken drugs.”
She also denied any wrongdoing on the part of her husband and said ‘of course they had to arrest him’.
Neighbours told this newspaper they had ‘no idea’ what happened on Monday, but Diario Sur has reported that nearby residents in the ‘close-knit’ community have spoken out in support of the arrested Brit.
One reportedly said he was ‘not arguing with the man’ and was instead ‘trying to reassure him’.
The final toxicology report of the man’s death is yet to be released.
