THREE men accused of carrying out a cold-blooded execution and another attempted murder in Marbella are facing a combined 114 years in prison as their long-delayed trial finally gets underway this month.
The case relates to the fatal shooting of one man and the attempted murder of another in the Playa Alvaro residential area on 15 November 2019.
The trio will appear before a jury in five sessions between April 13 and 17.
Originally scheduled for November 2025, the trial was postponed and is now set to be one of the most serious hearings on the Costa del Sol this year.
The prosecution is asking 38 and a half years in prison for each of the two men accused of carrying out the shooting, while the third defendant, said to have acted as a mediator, faces 37 years.
All three are charged with murder, attempted murder and belonging to a criminal organisation.
According to the prosecution, the attack was carefully planned with the sole aim of killing both victims, who were of Moroccan origin.
Investigators say that on the evening of the attack, at around 6.30pm, two of the defendants went to one of the victim’s houses.
They were accompanied by the victims themselves.
Once inside, one of the accused allegedly pulled out a .38 revolver and shot one of the men in the chest.
The victim suffered a fatal wound, with the bullet entering below the collarbone and exiting through his back. He was already dead by the time police arrived.
Moments later, the second gunman is said to have opened fire on the other victim, shooting him three times in the abdomen, shoulder and leg.
Despite surviving the attack, the man was left with spinal injuries and other wounds. He spent 153 days in the hospital and, after undergoing multiple operations and rehabilitation, was left paraplegic.
Prosecutors claim the killings were not random, but the result of several meetings between the suspects and their victims in the days leading up to the attack.
On 12 November, the third defendant met one of the victims at the Plaza Mayor shopping centre.
The following day, he is said to have met both the victims and the other two accused at Hospital Costa del Sol.
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Although he was not present at the scene of the shooting, investigators believe the perpetrators met with him shortly afterwards.
Private prosecutors, representing the survivor and the family of the deceased, claim that all three men were part of a criminal network linked to so-called ‘vuelcos’, violent robberies targeting drugs or cash from rival gangs.
They describe the Spanish defendant as the ringleader and the mastermind who gave orders to the others.
As a result, the lawyers are pushing for even harsher penalties, demanding life imprisonment with the possibility of parole for all three.
The prosecution is also demanding that the defendants pay €200,000 in compensation to the heirs of the deceased and €125,280 to the survivor.
However, the mastermind’s lawyer insists he had no involvement in the attack.
They claim he merely acted as an intermediary, introducing the others to individuals involved in drug deals, and was expecting a commission of around €4,500.
His lawyer maintains he had no knowledge of the crime.
The jury will now have to decide whether the three men are guilty for the crimes.
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