Dutch Handyman Facing 30 Year Sentence For Beating A 70 Year Old British Woman In Spain To Death

An elderly British woman living in Spain was murdered by a Dutch friend she had known for years who beat her so badly he broke all of her ribs in order to steal just 500 pounds.

Spanish prosecutors are seeking a 30-year-prison sentence for the accused, a Dutch handyman who was arrested last year after he allegedly beat the British ex-pat he had known for at least five years to death in her home in the village of Granja de Rocamora, near Alicante in southern Spain on 16th November 2019.

The press statement made by the police at the time said the 51-year-old Dutchman not named was arrested and charged with homicide and violent robbery of the woman, also not named, after a confession.

The 51-year-old handyman’s trial started this morning (13th September) and the prosecutor is looking to have him sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The local news site Destentor reports that the handyman had known the victim for five years and regularly worked for her doing odd jobs around the house such as painting and plumbing.

On the day of the alleged murder, the suspect came over to the victim’s house to collect his payment of EUR 50 (GBP 42.7) for some work that he had done earlier in the month.

When the victim pulled out her purse she accidentally dropped all the money inside, EUR 600 (GBP 512), onto the floor.

The handyman then allegedly struggled with the woman to get his hands on the money and ended up throwing her across the kitchen floor.

Police say he then pocketed the money and then beat her again to finish her off, hitting her in the face, chest and gut and breaking everyone single one of her ribs before fleeing the house with the cash in his pocket.

According to the press release obtained by Newsflash, the British woman was found dead in her home where she lived alone by a friend on the same day she was killed.

The friend called the Civil Guard after finding the pensioner’s body with signs of having suffered violence.

The woman died later in hospital from a brain haemorrhage that developed as a result of the beating.

After months of investigation, the authorities began to follow a hypothesis that the suspect was known by the victim and the Dutchman was then arrested on 9th January 2020 in the nearby town of Crevillente.

The trial is expected to go on until the end of the week although an exact date for when the sentence will be passed hasn’t been confirmed.