The trial against the Spanish chef Daniel Sanchoaccused of the premeditated murder of the Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta, concluded this Thursday in Thailand with a plea from the accused after a process of about a month.
The last hearing of the trial against son of the renowned Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho concluded this Thursday around 11:00 local time (22:00 Chilean time on Wednesday) in the Samui Provincial Court (southern Thailand), one day before the date initially scheduled for the end of the process, which has been held behind closed doors since April 9.
The judge, whose identity is confidential, set the date of the reading of the sentence for him August 29 at 10 in the morningas confirmed EFE.
Although initially the magistrate gave one month for the parties to present final written arguments from now on, the defense asked to extend that period to two months because they have to translate it, which the magistrate authorized and delayed the reading of the sentence.
FINAL ALLEGATION
During today’s hearing, Sancho made a final argument of about 45 minuteswhich he had requested himself.
The last session of the trial is held after Sancho finished testifying the day before, especially in Spanish but also in English, with difficulties in translating into Thai, and after answering questions from the defense and the Prosecutor’s Office in two consecutive hearings. .
At the trial, which was held in the midst of a huge media attention and which has had a total of twelve sessions and around 35 witnesses, With only a dozen from the defense, Sancho’s father, the actor, attended Rodolfo Sanchoand the defendant’s mother, the investment analyst Silvia Bronchalo.
Likewise, representatives of the Spanish Embassy in Thailand attended the hearings, a common protocol when dealing with a compatriot accused of a crime that It can be punished by up to the death penalty, although the Asian country hardly applies it.
THE CHARGES AGAINST SANCHO
The Prosecutor’s Office has tried to demonstrate during the trial that Sancho premeditatedly murdered Arrieta on August 2 on the tourist island of Phangannear Samui, where both had met that day.
To Spanish He is also accused of hiding the body, for the dismemberment of Arrieta, whose remains were scattered throughout various places on the island, including the sea, and of destruction of other people’s documentationfor the Colombian’s passport.
Sancho pleaded not guilty to premeditated murder, the crime that carries the maximum penalty, and to the destruction of other people’s documentation during the first day of the trial, when he only accepted the charge of hiding the body.
The defense has alleged that Sancho, who has had a very active role in the trial, acted in self-defense after an attempted rape by Arrieta and that the death of the Colombian surgeon in the Spaniard’s villa in Phangan was due to an accident. during a fight.
Sancho has been in provisional detention since August 7 in Samui prison, from which he has traveled in a police van to attend the trial and where he will be admitted again this Thursday.
