Madrid court begins this Monday The trial of Jesus Pradales for the death of his partner Juana Canal 21 years ago, in 2003for which he risks a request for 15 years in prison based on the accusations. Pradales will be in the dock as the alleged perpetrator of the murder of the Ciudad Lineal resident whose crime was solved 16 years later.
The trial is expected to begin this Monday in the seventh section of the Madrid courthouse with the selection of the popular jury that will rule on the events that occurred on February 23, 2003, when, according to Pradales, He had a fight with his wife, killed her and dismembered her body. to hide him in a town in Ávila, a crime confessed 16 years later when the victim’s bones were found.
The prosecution and the private prosecution led by Juana Canal’s family are asking for 15 years in prison for the accused for voluntary manslaughter, while the accused’s lawyer said he would defend his acquittal because it was an accidental death in the context of an argument.
“No crime was committed, it was an accidental, unfortunate, fortuitous event and subsequent events have nothing to do with the dynamics of what happened that night”“, said lawyer Luis Manuel Salgado to the press upon entering the courtroom in Madrid. That is why he will defend his acquittal and, in the alternative, if a homicide is found, that the mitigating circumstances of confessions and excessive delays be taken into account, stressing that Pradales collaborated with the investigation once arrested.
As for why Pradales did not confess anything and even wrote a note in which Juana allegedly said she was leaving the house voluntarily, The lawyer explained that “he behaved in this way in a situation of absolute tension and panic.” and that he will explain all this during the trial.
“In fact, he really wants and intends to explain why he behaved this way,” said the lawyer, who assured that Pradales would answer all the questions put to him.
For his part, the lawyer for Juana Canal’s family, Juan Manuel Medina, argued that it was clear that it was a homicide, as also corroborated by the attitude of the accused, who dismembered the body, wrote a note in which Juana allegedly stated that she was leaving voluntarily. and he went so far as to ask for an injury report stating that she had hit him and then lived a “normal” life for almost 20 years.
He clarified that, with the exception of the crime of homicide, all the others that he would have incurred have expired. Medina stressed that the anthropological report does not determine the exact cause of Juana Canal’s death, contrary to what the prosecution claims, which in its indictment speaks of a blow to the neck.
For Juana’s family, the start of the trial means “closing a circle that has been open for a long time” and the relatives are “in quotes, relieved” and that “It’s already a victory that this person is sitting on the bench”said the lawyer. He clarified that the case had been reopened and that Pradales had been arrested in 2022, when the facts were about to expire.
It is expected that only the popular jury will be formed this Monday, and that Pradales will testify on Tuesday, in a trial that will take place throughout the month of September with the testimony of numerous witnesses.
