'El Melillero' sentenced to 41 years for acid attack on ex-partner and her friend in Cártama

A Malaga court sentenced Jose Arcadio D., known by the nickname 'El Melillero', to 41 years and three months in prison for the attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend and a friend after attacking them with acid in the Malaga province town of Cártama in January 2021. In addition, two other defendants were convicted and three defendants were acquitted in this case.

The two young women had acid splashed over them through a car window as they sat in their vehicle. The attack left both with serious burn injuries to their bodies that required extensive treatment in hospital.

'El Melillero' denied in court that he wanted to kill or harm the two victims and claimed that "the intention was to scare them".

According to the court sentence, Jose Arcadio D. was convicted of two crimes of attempted murder with the aggravating circumstance of gender violence in both cases, as well as of one crime of habitual abuse with his ex-partner, another of harassment and two of threats. He was acquitted of the charge of belonging to a criminal organisation.

The trial of El Melillero and five others, among them the co-accused 'El Poti' who accompanied him on the day of the attack, began on 13 November 2023. The trial was originally scheduled for sentencing on 1 December.