David George Hartley, 41, from Mansfield, Notts, was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for the murder in June, 2002, of Danish holidaymaker Paul Pedersen.
He was also sentenced to a further two years imprisonment for stealing 200 euros - then worth about £135 - from his victim after strangling him.Hartley denied the charges.The written sentence was published at the Barcelona provincial court today following Hartley's conviction by a jury of nine at the end of a five-day trial last month.Hartley met Pedersen at a campsite near Barcelona airport in June, 2002. They became friends and shared the same tent, the court heard.
"Witnesses from the campsite said they were always together," says the written sentence.On the night of June 23, the jury heard during the trial, Hartley attacked the Dane while he slept. He was strangled and 200 euros were stolen from his pocket. Hartley fled, first to Benidorm and then back to Britain.
He was arrested in Nottinghamshire in the autumn and extradited to Spain two years later. The court heard when the trial opened that Hartley had been in custody for nearly six years.
The written judgement says that the jury found it had been proved that Hartley had grabbed his tent mate's neck in a stranglehold fully aware that he was likely to kill him.The jury had also believed the testimonies of two British witnesses who said that Hartley had told them about the killing.Former girlfriend Anne Trout said that Hartley, whom the court heard was a drug user and habitual drinker, had told her he believed he had strangled a man in Spain, but was not sure.
Alan Burns told the court how Hartley confessed to him over a drink in a bar in Benidorm. Weeping, Hartley said he had strangled a man at a campsite after "an indecent suggestion" was made, Mr. Burns said.When the trial opened Hartley denied killing Pedersen and stealing his money. But he refused to testify.His defence lawyer said there was no evidence to prove the allegations and asked the jury to acquit Hartley.
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