Murder probe into missing Scots mum reopened
A JUDGE has been ordered to reopen a murder inquiry in Spain into the partner of missing Scot Lisa Brown.
Javier Garcia Ramila must rule on whether Simon Corner should be charged and prosecuted over Miss Brown’s disappearance once analysis of his mobile phone has taken place.
State prosecutors halted the court investigation last April because it was felt there was insufficient evidence to warrant a trial.
But, in an eleventh-hour change of heart, the same lawyers helped secure the reopening of the case by supporting the appeals of Miss Brown’s family.
Originally from Alexandria, Dunbartonshire, Miss Brown was 32 when she disappeared after failing to collect her son Marco from school in November 2015.
She had lived in Spain since the age of 18 and shared her home in Guadiaro, Andalucia, on and off with Corner. Police said a ‘violent episode’ took place there.
Liverpool-born Corner, 36, was put under investigation on suspicion of a crime of homicide or unlawful detention. Four British men and a woman faced investigation on suspicion of obstruction of justice but their bail conditions were lifted.
Yesterday, Miss Brown’s brother, Craig Douglas, welcomed the latest decision. A £100,000 reward offered by Miss Brown’s family last year for information on her whereabouts remains on the table.
Mr Douglas said: ‘Our family believe that the people involved will be brought to justice.’
He added: ‘We are obviously pleased the court investigation has been reopened, even though we know the police have continued the work they were doing.
‘It’s frustrating things are taking so long but we can’t fault what the Guardia Civil have done.’
Three judges in Cadiz took the decision to reopen the investigation last month – but it was only made public yesterday.
Their five-page written ruling said a mobile phone belonging to Corner should be fully analysed – more than two years after police obtained authorisation to get a specialist data recovery firm to look at it – before any decision on prosecution. This is expected to take around two months.
They made clear prosecutors still think there is not enough evidence to warrant a trial, but they feel legal guidelines had been breached previously.
Corner – sentenced to three months jail in Gibraltar in 2014 for possessing an offensive weapon – will remain free. His current whereabouts are not known.