Brit who strangled a friend to death in Tenerife and then claimed he was acting in self-defence after his victim attacked him with a golf club is jailed for ten years on Spanish island

A Briton has been jailed for 10 years in Tenerife, found guilty of strangling his friend in an abandoned house in 2020.

The unnamed killer attacked the victim on February 26, 2020 in the Costa del Silencio for reasons that could not be determined by the court.

The defense argued that the victim had hit his client with a golf club and that he had acted solely in self-defense.

But the court rejected the arguments, citing a lack of substantial evidence to support the claims.

It also rejected a request to consider drug and alcohol use as mitigating factors after a psychologist told the court it did not impair the man’s moral judgment.

The attacker was eventually ordered to pay 100,000 euros in compensation to the victim’s daughter.

The victim is said to have invited the Brit and another friend to stay with him in the abandoned house, because they could not afford real estate at the time.

But after strangling his friend and breaking his neck, the attacker fled to Britain where he was arrested.

The Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of the Canary Islands (TSJC) ultimately ruled that the Briton’s attempt to quickly return to Britain implicated him in the death of his friend.

Both who were staying with the victim at the time of his death attempted to return to Britain but were delayed by Covid restrictions.

The pair eventually returned home and were both arrested and ordered to be extradited.

The other person staying in the house was eventually released.

During the trial at the Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the defense argued that the Briton’s “precarious situation”, namely homelessness, lack of family and substance abuse, were mitigating circumstances.

But the court rejected the argument as legally irrelevant to the case.

The convict was said to have a history of violent behavior and drug use, while the victim was described as a ‘peaceful’ person.

It was also ruled that the injuries allegedly suffered by the attacker would have required medical attention had they been described, undermining claims of self-defense.

Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where a man was found guilty of the murder of a friend

And the court also said claims that the attacker tried to resuscitate the victim after the attack were “contrary” to the available evidence.

In its ruling, the court noted that one golf club allegedly used by the victim never appeared in evidence.

The victim appeared to have died of asphyxiation after squeezing and breaking his neck.