Story By: Maja Mishevksa, Sub Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash

A Nazi thug who killed a gay man two decades ago and wrote “Hitler was right” and “KKK” on the wall next to his victim’s body has been sentenced to 15 years behind bars.

The court of Barcelona, in the eastern Spanish region of Catalonia, has sentenced Cristian Gaviria to 15 years in prison for the homophobic murder that took place on 8th March 2000 in Montgat, in Barcelona province.

He eventually fled the country and went back to his native Colombia but has now been found guilty of the crime of premeditated murder, cruelty and for discriminating against the sexual orientation of the victim after French officials had him extradited for murder.

Gaviria, who the judge said was keen on Nazi ideology and white supremacy, told the court: “Yes, I killed him with a knife, stabbing him.” The man he killed was identified only as V.A.V.

The Ecuadorian victim’s body was found with 17 stabbing injuries and the message “Hitler was right” (Hitler tenia razon) and “KKK” was written in blood on a wall.

The court heard how Gaviria attacked V.A.V “in a fast and surprising way” stabbing in the face, neck, lung and heart.

It was said that he carried out the attack because of the victim’s sexual orientation. The victim was reportedly in “agony” before his death.

Local media reported that the crime took place when the pair – who previously met through a job offer – met, supposedly to have sex.

Once the victim stripped off, his attacker stabbed him – and the victim could do nothing to defend himself.

The case was reportedly originally closed due to the lack of evidence but was re-opened in 2016 following new lines of inquiry.

In 2012, the suspect fled Spain and returned to his native Colombia before being arrested and extradited to Spain in 2018 after a former girlfriend told Spanish officials he had confessed to her.

Following his confession and guilty verdict, Gaviria was also ordered to pay a compensation of 45,000 EUR (37,946 GBP) to the son of the victim, and 25,000 EUR (21,081 GBP) to the sister of the victim.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.