Guipúzcoa court sentences man who shot dead his ex-partner to 20 years in prison

The private prosecution representing the victim's two daughters had requested a 34-year prison sentence for murder, threats, coercion and unlawful possession of firearms. The Clara Campoamor association had also joined the case as a private prosecutor, seeking a 33-year prison sentence.

On Thursday, however, the parties reached a plea agreement, just before the jury trial was due to begin on 16 October.

The events took place on 30 November 2024, in the presence of the woman's eldest daughter and another young woman with whom the victim shared a flat.

Diego Fernando T. C. no longer had the keys to the flat, as Ana Leonor had broken up with him, so he waited on the landing until the young flatmate arrived. He urged her to open the door.

"You already knew what was going to happen, you know why I've come here, I'm going to kill you. You've ruined my life, you've got loads of men," he told Ana Leonor before shooting her in the thigh and the head. He also threatened to shoot the two young women.

The man then fled and turned himself in, with the murder weapon. The police station he went to was located very close to where he lived with his so, who was a minor at the time.

Following his confession, the police launched an investigation into the origin of the firearm. They discovered that it belonged to a close friend, José Fernando S., a 62-year-old man of Colombian origin (same as the defendant), who had been living in Gipúzcoa for many years.

The day after the crime, the Basque police contacted José Fernando S., who took his own life in the bungalow where he lived ten days later.

Diego Fernando T. C.'s voluntary surrender, confession and remorse, as well as the victim's family's wish to avoid the revictimisation that would result from having to face a three-week trial, have made the reduction of the prison sentences possible.

The court has handed down a sentence of 17 years for the murder of Ana Leonor, one year for conditional threats, one year for the unlawful possession of a weapon and six months for each of the two offences of non-continuous threats.

The victim's youngest daughter was present during the hearing. The only words Diego Fernando T. C. spoke were to accept the sentence.

The crime highlights the difficulties some victims of abuse often face in escaping. Since settling in Gipúzcoa, Ana Leonor had reported her killer on two occasions.

The first incident took place in 2020. Diego Fernando T. C. was convicted and Ana Leonor was given shelter in a refuge. However, she withdrew the complaint and the case was closed in 2022.

That same year, Leonor reported him again, but the case was dismissed because she invoked her right not to testify and said that she was still in a relationship with him.

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