A British man has been charged with stabbing a Spanish pedestrian to death in a Costa del Sol road rage attack.
Prosecutors want Lewis Harry Briggs jailed for more than 16 years if he is convicted, it emerged today.
The 23-year-old was extradited to Spain from the UK to face justice after being arrested on the outskirts of Leeds in West Yorkshire in December 2020 following a five-week manhunt.
He is accused of stabbing teenager Ulrich Perez in the heart on November 18, 2020 on a zebra crossing in Diana Park between the resorts of Marbella and Estepona, who allegedly recriminated Briggs for driving too fast.
Lewis Harry Briggs, a promising boxer, is accused of stabbing to death a Spanish teen
Ulrich Perez was stabbed in the heart on November 18, 2020 on a zebra crossing in Diana Park between the resorts of Marbella and Estepona
The white Mercedes car the murder suspect was driving was seized shortly after the fatal stabbing as it was about to be removed try a pick-up truck
The victim was said at the time to have been attacked by a man in a UK-plated white Mercedes he’d chastised for speeding.
The car the murder suspect was driving was seized shortly after the fatal stabbing as it was about to be removed try a pick-up truck.
A three-page indictment made public today accuses Briggs of stealing the number plates on an Audi S8 parked in a garage hours after the killing and putting them on his hired Merc.
It says of the crime that led to Ulrich’s death: ‘After a struggle with the victim, with the intention of ending his life, we allege the accused kicked him in the chest and stabbed him in the chest before fleeing.
‘As a result of the brutal aggression the victim died from an injury caused by a single stab wound to the chest which penetrated his heart and caused massive external haemorrhaging according to the autopsy.’
Prosecutors are seeking a 14-year prison sentence for Briggs, who lived in the Marbella area, if he is convicted of Ulrich’s homicide at a trial.
They want him jailed for an additional two years if he is convicted of fraud over the use of the stolen number plates, and another two months for theft.
And if he is found guilty of the most serious offence he is facing, they want him to pay Ulrich’s parents £265,000 each in compensation.
Briggs is alleged to have stabbed the Spanish victim at a pedestrian crossing between Marbella and Estepona
Lewis Harry Briggs will now appear before a judge in Estepona via a video link at a court in Madrid after being handed over to Spanish police
Briggs, 21 at the time of the incident, was identified in Spain as a boxer from a well-settled family in Marbella around the time of his arrest.
He is said to have boxed often at the MGM gym, which has now closed after being rebranded as the MTK Marbella gym but welcomed stars like Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua and was closely linked to Irish crime boss Daniel Kinahan.
Cinema worker stab victim Ulrich was heading back from a local supermarket to the home he shared with his parents and two siblings opposite the murder scene when he was attacked.
Local reports said one of the people who went to his aid was his mum.
The youngster’s great aunt Herminia Martinez took to Facebook afterwards to say: ‘At times we feel as if God has abandoned us and we ask why the Lord took you or you want to have that person who hurt your son or your daughter in front of you to ask them why they did what they did and committed such cruelty.
‘I imagine that when that happens we also want to die with our son or daughter, because the pain must be so great that we don’t think about anything else. You can’t believe what’s happening. We think it’s a nightmare.
‘A mad man, a stupid man snatched your life away from you and you are in another dimension with your great-grandparents who loved you so much. Rest in peace.’
Locals launched a campaign to help Ulrich’s family with funeral costs and put collection pots in shops near his home in the aftermath of his murder.
Briggs is detained in the UK before being extradited to Spain
Suspect killer Lewis Briggs was arrested in Yorkshire before being handed over to Spanish authorities
No date for Briggs’ jury trial, which will take place at a court in Malaga, is yet thought to have been set.
It was not clear last night how he will plead when he takes the stand, and whether his alleged victim’s family have also launched their own private prosecution which would run parallel but separately to the Spanish state one.
A spokesman for Spain’s National Police confirmed after Briggs’ extradition from the UK in January 2021: ‘British police have handed over the suspected killer of a Spanish man who was arrested on December 22 last year.
‘Police investigations determined that the victim was about to cross a zebra crossing when he was almost run over by a vehicle whose driver had to brake sharply.
‘The driver initially left the scene but returned moments after and got out of his car and stabbed the pedestrian in the heart without warning, ending his life virtually instantly before speeding off.
‘Nothing could be done to save the victim’s life and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
‘Investigators had identified a suspect and discovered he had allegedly managed to flee Spain for England.
‘A European Arrest Warrant was issued which culminated in his arrest in West Yorkshire.
‘National Police will now will be tasked with making sure he is handed over to the Spanish judicial authorities.’
Steve Reynolds from the National Crime Agency’s international liaison network said at the time: ‘This was a horrific crime, and we worked closely with our Spanish partners to track this suspect down in the UK and have him taken to Spain to now face trial.
‘We work closely with international partners across the globe to track down fugitives and ensure that nowhere is a safe haven.’
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