Alleged murderer who decapitated victim in Marbella before ditching her body in sea due to go on trial next week

The alleged murderer of Natalia, the 45-year-old Colombian woman who was decapitated at the hands of her partner in Marbella, will go on trial from next week.

Leonel H. faces up to 26 years in prison for murder when the first hearing takes place next Wednesday 16 October.

As SUR has previously reported, the public prosecution team considers Leonel, who was 45 years old when the incident happened, planned the crime "days before". He had been reported to the authorities by Natalia a month earlier for allegedly abusing her.

According to the prosecution's case, Leonel acted knowing what the outcome would be and concealed evidence that could incriminate him. He surprised her and attacked her from behind, without any possibility of Natalia defending herself, the prosecution will argue.

In executing the "preconceived plan", on the morning of Sunday 8 January, Leonel asked a co-worker to rent a cargo van without windows. After picking it up, the two drove to a church where the alleged murderer knew he could find Natalia, as she attended worship there every Sunday.

At 12.30pm, according to the prosecution team, Leonel approached the victim, put her in the van in the loading area, where no one could see them, and the three of them drove to the Pinomar car park, where Leonel and Natalia got out. The friend of the alleged murderer then continued the journey in the direction of La Cañada, where he delivered the van at 1.11pm.

Leonel drove Natalia to the Playa Real de Zaragoza and, according to the investigation, they had sex among the dunes. However, after that, taking advantage of Natalia being crouched on the ground, he allegedly used the 'mataleón' technique, which consists of surprising victims from behind by passing their arm around their neck causing them to lose consciousness.

Then, using a very sharp-bladed box cutter which he carried with him "with the intention of using it in the murder", he allegedly decapitated Natalia and threw her head into the sea. He did the same with both hands after severing them at the wrists, although the waves washed them ashore some days later.

After that, he took off his clothes, finished undressing the victim's body and dragged the corpse across the sand and into the sea, where he made an incised wound in the abdomen to make the body sink. His intention was that it would never float and that it could not be identified.

Back on the beach, Leonel got dressed again and returned home. On the way back, he stopped to get rid of the box cutter, which he threw on the beach near the Faro de Marbella, as well as Natalia's clothes and belongings of his own, which he scattered in various rubbish bins.

The prosecution has requested Leonel be sentenced to 25 years and nine months in prison, while the private prosecution, Natalia's children represented by lawyer Ricardo Álvarez-Ossorio, is requesting a sentence of 26 years in prison.

The private prosecution has also requested 150,000 euros in compensation for each of Natalia's two children. It also requested that, if he is convicted, the defendant should not be deported from Spain and serve his full sentence in the country where he committed the crime.