Sentenced to eight years in prison for killing a man on Christmas Day 2023 in Maó

PalmA man accused of killing another man in Maó in the early hours of Christmas Day 2023 accepted an eight-year prison sentence for homicide on Monday, while a second individual accepted a six-month sentence for failing to stop the attack. The parties reached a plea agreement on Monday before the trial, which was scheduled to take place before a jury at the Provincial Court of the Balearic Islands. The first defendant was ultimately convicted of homicide, although the prosecution initially sought a 20-year sentence for murder. The man admitted to having an argument with the victim and punching him several times in the face, causing him to fall to the ground and lose consciousness. Under the agreement, the prosecution removed from its closing arguments the references that, after this initial assault, he continued to hit the victim in the head until he was in a coma. The victim died a few days later, on January 2, 2024. The man must also pay the deceased's family €280,000 in compensation. Regarding the second defendant, the initial request for a two-year prison sentence has been reduced to six months. This man also admitted to the charges against him and accepted the sentence. The mitigating circumstance of alcohol and drug use was taken into account in both cases. The events date back to the early hours of Christmas Day 2023 in Maó.