An estate agent who allegedly murdered an elderly British woman in her Costa Blanca home two years ago claims he was suffering from a “psychotic episode” at the time of the killing.
British widow Monica Warren, 80, was allegedly shot dead at her home in Elche, Costa Blanca, in May 2022 by a 48-year-old estate agent, whose name has not been released.
The killer is said to have enlisted the help of her then 16-year-old son to move Monica’s body, which was found under her bed.
A plumber who had called the pensioner to her home to carry out an urgent repair raised the alarm after finding a pool of blood. He told emergency services he was concerned after seeing two people in hoodies leave the pensioner’s home and drive away in a black Peugeot. They told him the British expat was ill and urged him to return the following day.
Yesterday, on the first day of the murder trial, the defendant testified she “lost her head” and shot Ms Warren after seeing a “white silhouette” when she knocked on her door in the pouring rain and was let in.
British widow Monica Warren, 80, was reportedly shot dead at her home in Elche, Costa Blanca (pictured) in May 2022 by a 48-year-old estate agent.
The murder took place in a residential complex near Elche, near Alicante on the Costa Blanca
She also claimed that in the months leading up to the shooting, she had been driven mad by a “gray-haired” figure who followed her everywhere.
The suspect claimed that her teenage son, who has also not been named, was in her car when she shot Ms Warren and that she initially acted alone, but later asked him to help her move her victim’s body while she was in a ‘state of shock’.
Prosecutors, who were seeking at least 28 years for the alleged killer, disputed her story, claiming the killing was premeditated. Ms. Warren had previously reported the theft of a .22 Beretta pistol, believed to be the murder weapon found at the home, which she is allowed to use as a gun enthusiast.
A summary of the charges she faces, released ahead of the first day of the scheduled week-long hearing, said: “Prosecutors allege she committed the crime with her son, who was a minor at the time.
‘Both are said to have killed her without her being able to defend herself. They are said to have shot her three times and stabbed her in the left chest.’
‘The Public Prosecution Service’s indictment states that hours later, in the early hours of the morning, the female suspect poured petrol over her own car in which she had driven to the dead woman’s house and set the car on fire on a street in Alicante to destroy evidence.
The flames spread and burned other parked cars.
‘The Public Prosecution Service is provisionally demanding a prison sentence of 25 years for murder and another three years for arson.’
Her trial was held separately from that of her son, which was due to begin in June. However, he tragically died in a car crash the day before the trial was due to open after losing control of his Mercedes convertible on the AP-7 motorway near Campoamor, just south of the seaside resort of Torrevieja.
Murdered suspect says she was having a ‘psychotic episode’ at the time of the murder
Police said they were on to the suspects after the mother’s car caught fire in Alicante shortly after Ms Warren’s bullet-ridden body was found in her home.
The youth, whose name has not been released and who had been released on bail after being held in a juvenile detention center, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Juvenile court prosecutors reportedly sought an eight-year prison sentence for the teenager if he was found guilty of murdering Ms. Warren.
He died of cancer several years before the murder and she lived alone.
Mrs Warren, who was born in Germany but became a British citizen through marriage, moved to Spain with her British-born husband John more than 20 years before she was murdered.
Alan Benson, 70, a friend of Mrs Warren, who lived near her villa in a residential area a short distance from Elche, revealed after her death that she had worked as a model in London.
He then added: ‘She was tall, but she was incredibly thin. You could have knocked her over with a feather – I just don’t understand why they did that.’