A POLICE file into the death of an expat in Andalucia has revealed strong evidence of a violent robbery – yet the case has been provisionally closed by a judge.
Brett Dryden, 35, was found dead inside his Mojacar home on July 22 last year with his phone, wallet and an estimated €8,000 missing – and blood stains all over the house.
Yet his mother Sandra told the Olive Press this week, she was shocked the investigation was curtailed in September – despite numerous leads being unexplored.
“The whole thing is an absolute s*** show,” she said, adding that the Guardia Civil report was ‘a joke’.
She revealed her family are now hiring a private investigator to find out what really happened.
What is known is that the father-of-one had left his cannabis club, The Dawg House, at 1.35pm on the day of his death, telling an employee he would ‘be right back’.
He never returned. His phone records show he received a call around 2pm, while he texted a friend that the ‘people he was waiting for’ had arrived at his house.
Around the same time, nearby CCTV footage showed a man in a cap and mask loitering outside Brett’s door, acting as an apparent lookout for at least 15 minutes.
One minute later, two masked figures were seen running from the house, one carrying a large bag and the other a smaller one resembling Brett’s cross-body pouch.
The police report, seen by the Olive Press, reveals Brett had arranged to meet an Albanian cannabis supplier known as ‘Irdi’ at his home.
Witnesses described Irdi as always being accompanied by another man, ‘Hakim’ or ‘Hakir’ both of whom were familiar in the local drug scene.
Despite detailed descriptions, there is no indication in the police file handed to Brett’s family that either man was questioned or even located by investigators.
What is clear is that Brett’s friend Ashley Povey found his body later that evening in the living room, with his dog sitting nearby.
His belongings were gone, and the front door was open. Initial reports from officers claimed there had been ‘no struggle’ and that Brett had died from a blood clot.
This was despite a forensic report revealing multiple head injuries and internal bleeding, which led to the cause of death being revised to homicide.
One of the most shocking aspects of the case involves Brett’s stolen iPhone.
Despite the phone being missing from his home, a 1-second internet call was made to his mother’s number hours after his death.
Investigators traced the phone’s signal to Vera, a nearby town, and later located the device near a campground.
Strangely, another phone, registered to a woman with no criminal record, was traced to both Brett’s home and the campground.
Although investigators found that multiple people, including one with a criminal history, lived at the property, no interviews were conducted with any of them.
Despite these red flags, the Guardia Civil closed the case in September, citing a lack of identifiable suspects.
A judge issued a provisional archive order, meaning the case could only be reopened if new evidence emerges.
READ MORE: British family demand answers over ‘murder’ of expat dad at his seaside home in Spain’s Andalucia
Brett’s family insists the evidence points to a violent robbery gone wrong, but they feel the investigation was never taken seriously.
“I just want to know what happened to my boy,” Sandra continued, expressing her disbelief that authorities had no interest in solving the case.
“I feel like they never intended to solve Brett’s murder.”
The family’s attempts to appeal the decision have been met with silence.
Their lawyer reported that the police phone number connected to the case is no longer working, and they have been waiting for a response for over five weeks.
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