Acid killer to feature in assault hearing

ACID killer Klaus Andres will likely have to take the stand as a witness when a trial begins for a man accused of assaulting him in jail.

The 75-year-old, who is serving a life sentence in Lotus Glen Correctional Centre for killing and dissolving his wife Li Peng Cao in acid, suffered facial injuries after he was allegedly attacked by a fellow inmate in August last year.

The accused man is Jose Garcia Lozano, 63, a Spaniard who was jailed in 2015 after being busted trying to smuggle 2.3kg of cocaine, with a street value of $1.6 million, through Cairns Airport.

He is also a former middleweight boxing champion.

The pair allegedly got into an argument when Andres attempted to hang his coffee cup on a hook in the tailor room where the pair work at the jail.

Andres has alleged Lozano moved in front of the hooks so he told him to “get out of my face” and the pair were involved in an altercation.

Police allege the argument continued later when Germanborn Andres made derogatory remarks about Spanish people and Lozano responded by punching him in the face.

Andres fell and Lozano allegedly kicked him before a guard intervened. Andres allegedly suffered a broken nose which is causing ongoing breathing problems, a split eyebrow and head swelling.

Lozano’s case was mentioned in the Mareeba Magistrates Court on Monday where the prosecution asked for the case to be adjourned while the brief of evidence was completed.

Lozano’s solicitor Scott Osborne said they would be seeking a trial listing when the case returns to court on March 25.