An 18-year-old teenager due to stand trial for the murder of a British OAP has died in a car crash in Spain, a day before his trial was set to begin. The youth, who was 16 at the time of the killing, lost control of his convertible Mercedes on the AP-7 motorway near Campoamor, south of Torrevieja.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. The teenager had been on bail after an initial remand in a youth detention centre. Prosecutors were seeking an eight-year custodial sentence if he was found guilty of the murder of Monica Warren, 80.
The body of Mrs Warren, a British expatriate, was found at her home in Elche near Alicante in May 2022 with stab and gunshot wounds. The teenager was accused of helping his mother move the victim's body after the attack. His mother, 46, is also facing trial separately, expected after the summer.
Mrs Warren, a naturalised British citizen born in Germany, had moved to Spain with her UK-born husband John more than 20 years before her death. He died of cancer several years earlier. Police believe the murder may have been linked to a real estate dispute.
The murder weapon, a .22 Beretta pistol, was found near the house. Mrs Warren, a firearms enthusiast, had previously reported the gun stolen. The alarm was raised by a plumber who could not get her to answer the door and saw two people in hoodies leaving her home.
