Palma de Mallorca – It’s a case full of questions: Two years ago, the German vacationer Tim V. (20) died on the MA-19 motorway in Mallorca. At first the investigators assumed it was an accident, but now they are certain: it was murder.
On Wednesday began on the Balearic Island (Spain) the trial against the alleged killers, Francisco Jesús JG (36) and José David RS (44).
Murder or accident?
October 8, 2022 began harmlessly for Tim V.: The young man Hesse celebrated with a friend on Ballerman. At some point they got lost vacationers out of sight.
Video footage shows Tim V. looking for his friend on the party mile at 10:25 p.m. Only about three minutes later he is dead – run over on the MA-19 highway, 1.5 kilometers from where the camera filmed him.
Mysterious case and difficult investigation
The tourist’s death was a mystery for investigators for a long time: Initially, the police assumed that Tim V. got lost on the highway while drunk – an accident. But in October 2023, the head of the homicide squad confirmed that it was impossible to cover the distance on foot in such a short time.
“He would never have walked onto a motorway and laid down there,” the “Mallorca Zeitung” quoted the holidaymaker’s family as saying through their lawyer, Maria Barbancho.
And according to the prosecution, the last minutes of Tim’s life were different than initially assumed: With 2.41 per mille in his blood, Tim V. is said to be looking for his Hotel to have been pulled into a Citroën Berlingo. The defendants are said to have robbed Tim and later pushed him out of the pickup truck on the MA-19 highway.
The public prosecutor’s office is certain: Because of his alcohol consumption, Tim V. was hardly able to defend himself and was arrested after he responded Autobahn had fallen and was run over by a car that could no longer avoid it.
The defendants allegedly just wanted to help
The defendants’ lawyers don’t want to know anything about this, claiming that the men just wanted to take the tourist to the hotel. However, that was only 100 meters away from the Ballermann. And the van drove in the opposite direction.
At the beginning of the trial, the defendants said that Tim V. jumped out of the car himself while it was driving at full speed. Her defense lawyers are calling for an acquittal.
Public Prosecutor’s Office and co-plaintiffs are each demanding a prison sentence of 25 years and compensation for the relatives of around 200,000 euros plus funeral costs. A verdict is due on December 9th.