José María C.G., the 51-year-old on trial for the murder of his partner Celia in Son Cotoner, Palma in November 2016, stated in court yesterday that he will have to pay for what he has done. "But I stress that I didn't know what I was doing. It's very difficult to believe or to understand, but that's how it is." He wanted to apologise to Celia's family but knew that the apologies "would not be accepted".
It was the final day of the trial by jury. The prosecution has maintained its demand for a 25-year prison sentence and for 80,000 euros compensation to be paid to each of Celia's five children. The prosecution considers proven the facts that Celia was beaten unconscious with an iron kettle and then strangled.
The defence, which had initially requested acquittal, is asking for a lesser sentence of ten years. In mitigation, the accused confessed the facts to four police officers and had been in a state of depression.
In summing up, the prosecutor Amparo González said that he had tried to hinder the investigation. He had not been depressed but annoyed that his recent marriage to the victim was not as he had foreseen. "He is Machiavellian and has even been able to deceive the psychiatrist for the defence."