The Superior Court of Justice of Castilla y León (TSJCyL) has upheld the sentence of 21 years and four months in prison for a man who murdered his landlady in León in 2020. The case went to the regional court after the convict appealed the initial ruling of the Provincial Court. The sentence confirms that the accused stabbed the woman who rented him an apartment in the city multiple times, and also stole 3,000 euros from her. The perpetrator of the crime tried to reduce the sentence – for murder with treachery and cruelty, and robbery – but the judicial ruling has dismissed that possibility. The convicted man, who has been in provisional prison since 2022, can appeal to the Supreme Court.
The judicial decision considers it proven that on August 24, 2020, the 26-year-old individual went to the home of the deceased, a 65-year-old woman who rented him an apartment just below where she lived, as the judges state: “They had a good and cordial neighborly relationship, with the accused having been in her home on some occasions.” That afternoon, the accused went to his landlady’s home, aware that she lived alone. The man and she entered a room where the woman was sleeping and used it to store cash, documents, and other objects. At that moment, and unexpectedly “with the intention of ending the victim’s life,” he took out a knife or blade from his pants and stabbed her in several parts of her body, causing mortal wounds. Once the woman collapsed but still alive, the killer “stabbed her 20 times with the knife or blade”. The medical examination of the corpse added that the accused stabbed the woman another 32 times after she was already dead.
The tenant, after killing his landlady, “went to the bathroom in the house and (…) washed the blood on his hands in the sink, then dried them with a towel.” The sentence considers that he “acted suddenly and unexpectedly, doing so surprisingly and preventing her from defending herself or reacting or avoiding the attack” and “cornered” her in the room, with no room for the victim’s defense or escape, “completely caught off guard by a potential attack due to the trusting relationship that existed between them.” The multiple stabbings on the body mean, according to the judges, that they were done “solely with the intention of intentionally increasing the magnitude of her pain and suffering.” After the woman had died, the accused “stole the amount of 3,000 euros she had in the room where the events occurred”.
The sentence handed down a 21-year prison sentence for murder with treachery and cruelty and an additional four months for robbery with violence. Additionally, he will have to pay 3,000 euros to the deceased woman’s two children for the stolen money, as well as 35,000 euros each for the murder, and the same amount to a man with whom the woman had been in a romantic relationship for several years. The convicted individual has the option to appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court.
