Does this CCTV image hold key to murder of stag-do Scot in Spain?
Family hopes new clue will lead to killer of surveyor
THE family of a Scot murdered in Spain while on his brother’s stag weekend are hoping the discovery of CCTV footage can lead them to his killer.
Craig Mallon, 26, died after being struck by a single punch outside a bar in Lloret de Mar in 2012.
The quantity surveyor’s family have been frustrated by a lack of progress in the police investigation. As yet, no arrests have been made in connection with the death of Mr Mallon, from Coatbridge, Lanarkshire.
His parents, Ian and Antoinette, now hope footage found by a retired detective investigating the case will help to bring them justice.
They are optimistic that tracking down four Frenchmen filmed in the resort around the time their son was killed could help to solve the riddle of his murder.
Images and video footage were posted on the Craig Mallon Appeal page on Facebook, with French and Spanish translations in an attempt to gather information.
Mr Mallon’s employer, building company Laing O’Rourke, hired former detective superintendent David Swindle, who led the probe to bring Peter Tobin to justice, to investigate the case.
Mr Swindle uncovered CCTV footage of the Frenchmen entering the local police station around 6.40am – a little more than 30 minutes after the killing – and believes they are vital to the inquiry.
He said: ‘These are the four French people who hold the key to what happened to Craig Mallon. They were at the scene when the incident happened. They had their car towed away from a street behind the place where Craig was killed.
‘Four French males, walking through that scene when the incident was started.
‘It’s important that we trace these people. I’m sure social media will drive this and we’ll eventually get there.’
Mr Mallon’s father Ian, 52, said: ‘When he was out with his friends, if any argument broke out, Craig was always the peacemaker.
‘One of the Scottish boys turned round and Craig was on the ground and he had been punched on the side of the head, and he was more or less dead. If it happened in this country, which it does happen, they’d be caught within 48 hours, 24 hours. It’s as if they just let it go.
‘Craig was 26 and had his full life ahead of him. He’s been taken away and it’s as if it was brushed under the carpet. We’re hopeful this appeal will help track down the four men shown in the footage and bring them forward.’
Mr Swindle has criticised the Spanish police probe.
He said: ‘The fatal blow inflicted on Craig Mallon in front of numerous potential witnesses in a busy street, I would have thought that would have been a simple investigation. The basic steps were not followed.’ Police investigating the killing claim there is not a clear clue to solving the mystery. They say they cannot reveal the details of an open inquiry.
Mr Mallon, who had been working in Australia, had been in Lloret de Mar for seven hours when he was assaulted in the street, near Rockefellers nightclub, in an unprovoked attack.
He was with eight friends for his stepbrother Bryan’s stag party when he was killed. His parents flew out from Lanarkshire to identify their son’s body. Why did Kirsty plunge to her death?
‘He had his full life ahead of him’