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CRIME

Two teens added to list of arrests over killing of gay man in Spain

Two more suspects, both minors, have been arrested in Spain over the weekend killing of a young gay man that sparked nationwide protests, police said Friday.

Two teens added to list of arrests over killing of gay man in Spain
Photo: Curro de la Torre/AFP

Samuel Luiz, a 24-year-old nursing assistant, was out with friends in the northern city of Coruña in the early hours of Saturday when an argument started outside a nightclub.

His friends told Spanish media that Luiz (pictured below) was making a video call when two passersby accused him of trying to film them on his phone.

When Luiz explained he was talking to a friend by video, he was attacked by one of the passersby, leaving him with a badly bruised face.

Shortly after, the attacker allegedly returned with several others who beat Luiz unconscious. He was taken to hospital where he died from his injuries later on Saturday.

“Two new arrests, two minors of Spanish nationality, linked to the Samuel homicide, bringing to six the number of people detained at this stage,” the national police tweeted on Friday.

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Four suspects aged between 20 and 25 — three men and one woman — had been arrested over the death earlier in the week.

None of the suspects knew the victim, police told AFP.

The assailants shouted homophobic slurs while beating Luiz, according to his friends’ version of the events.

Police have not yet deemed it a homophobic attack, a spokesman saying “all hypothesis are open”.

The attack coincided with Pride celebrations in Spain and sparked protests in cities including Madrid and Barcelona on Monday night to demand better protection for gay people.

Demonstrators carried signs with slogans including “what they call you while they kill you matters”.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the killing, calling it a “savage and merciless act” in a tweet.

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CRIME

Son of Spanish actor goes on trial over grisly Thai island murder

The murder trial of a famous Spanish actor's son opened Tuesday on a popular Thai tourist island, where he is accused of killing and dismembering a Colombian plastic surgeon.

Son of Spanish actor goes on trial over grisly Thai island murder

Chef Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, 29, pleaded not guilty at a hearing in November to the premeditated murder of 44-year-old Edwin Arrieta Arteaga on the nearby Koh Pha Ngan island.

The pair were reported by Spanish media to have connected on Instagram in 2022, with Sancho travelling to Thailand on July 31st as a tourist, where they met.

The trial opened Tuesday on the honeymoon isle of Koh Samui, with Sancho’s father, well-known Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho, arriving at the court shortly after 8:30 am (0130 GMT).

Lawyer Juan Gonzalo Ospina Serrano, representing Arrieta’s family, told reporters during a break that Sancho had not shown any remorse inside the courtroom.

“Daniel does not recognise he has committed any kind of murder, not voluntary or otherwise,” he said, before adding: “It is a chilling image to see him cuffed by hands and feet.”

Ospina said earlier that the family hoped “Thai law will be forceful, that the truth can be told”.

Detained

Sancho has been in pre-trial detention in Thailand since August, after police said he had admitted to the murder.

Under Thai law, premeditated murder convictions carry the death penalty.

However, Arrieta’s family previously said they would not seek the death penalty.

Sancho has admitted to hiding Arrieta’s body – which carries up to a year in jail – but he denies the second charge of destroying the Colombian’s passport.

Sancho’s lawyer Apichart Srinual declined to answer reporters’ questions.

The Thai public prosecutor who filed the case against Sancho also declined to speak to the media at the court.

The trial is expected to last until mid-May, with scores of witnesses due to appear in court.

In August, police found body parts that are believed to belong to Arrieta at a rubbish dump in Koh Pha Ngan.

CCTV footage obtained by local media showed Sancho and the victim on a motorcycle together shortly before the remains were discovered.

Police said at the time Sancho’s motive for the killing was unclear.

Koh Pha Ngan is famed for its white sandy beaches and draws thousands of backpackers to its notoriously wild “full moon” parties.

In 2017, another Spaniard, Artur Segarra, was convicted of murdering a businessman in Bangkok and discarding dismembered body parts into the Chao Phraya River.

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