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

• The Brit said he acted in self-defence after he was attacked with a golf club

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

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

The defence argued the victim had struck his client with a golf club and that he had acted only in self-defence. 

But the court dismissed the arguments, citing a lack of substantial evidence to back up 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 ultimately ordered to pay 100,000 euros in compensation to the victim’s daughter. 

General view of Tenerife, a popular tourist spot in Spain’s Canary Islands, near Morocco

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

The victim had allegedly invited the Briton and another friend to stay with him at the abandoned residence as they were unable to afford a property at the time.

But after strangling his pal to death and fracturing his neck, the attacker fled to the United Kingdom, where he was arrested.

The Criminal Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) ultimately judged that the Brit’s attempt to quickly return to the UK implicates him in the death of his friend.

Both those staying with the victim at the time of his death sought to return to the UK, but were delayed by Covid restrictions.

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

The other staying at the house was eventually released.

On trial at the Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the defence argued that the Brit’s ‘precarious situation’ of homelessness, lack of family and substance abuse were mitigating circumstances.

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

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

It was also judged that the injuries allegedly sustained by the attacker would have required medical attention if as described, undermining claims of self-defence. 

And the court also said claims the attacker tried to resuscitate the victim after the assault was ‘inconsistent’ with the evidence available.

In its decision, the court referenced that one golf club allegedly used by the victim never appeared as evidence.

The victim was found to have died by asphyxiation after squeezing and fracturing his neck. 

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