Gabriel Cruz’s parents see “reasons” for repeating convicted Almeria child killer’s trial

THE parents of eight-year old Gabriel Cruz see “reasons” for repeating the trial of the convicted killer of their son, according to Spanish press reports.

Patricia Ramirez and Angel Cruz reportedly believe the judge in the trial of Ana Julia Quezada gave an opinion when they instructed the jury on considering an aggravating factor of extreme cruelty and the expert’s report on the matter.

The parents’ lawyer Francisco Torres maintained this therefore influenced the nine jury members.

The jury found there had not been extreme cruelty.

Quezada’s defence has also argued that the judge’s instructions to the jury were not impartial.

In September the jury unanimously decided Quezada was guilty of “voluntarily taking the life” of Gabriel in Cabo de Gata last year, “unexpectedly and without the possibility of the minor defending himself or reacting”, following a nine-day trial at the Almeria Provincial Court and more than 24 hours of deliberations.

The court sentenced the 45-year old Dominican to a maximum permanent reviewable prison sentence for the crime with the aggravating circumstance of a family relationship with the little boy.

Quezada was the first women to be sentenced to serving life with a possibility of parole after a minimum fixed term since the punishment was introduced into Spanish Law in 2015.

The court also sentenced her to three years behind bars for psychological injuries to Gabriel’s father, with whom she was in a relationship at the time of the youngster’s death, and two years and nine months for psychological injuries to his mother.

In addition, the sentence ordered Quesada to pay €250,000 to each parent in moral damages and banned her from living in or visiting Nijar or the parents’ homes for 30 years and from going within 500 metres of either Angel or Patricia.

She also has to pay the just over €200,000 cost to the state of the 12-day search operation launched to find the little lad following his disappearance from close to his grandmother’s house in Las Hortichuelas.