José Luis Abet shot and killed his ex-wife, his ex-mother-in-law and his ex-sister-in-law while their children, ages 4 and 7, looked on and had no chance of fleeing or defending themselves. This was determined in its verdict by a popular jury two weeks ago and, based on his opinion, the Provincial Court of Pontevedra has just sentenced him to a reviewable permanent prison sentence.
The trial was held behind closed doors in the Court of Pontevedra at the request of all the parties involved in the case seeking to preserve the "best interest" of their children, minors, and avoid their "significant risk of re-victimization" and has just given rise to a sentence whose most novel aspect is the application of the aggravating circumstance of gender discrimination in the case of the three victims, not only his ex-wife.
The jurors unanimously considered it proven that the defendant "felt superior to his ex-wife and the women of her family" and that he committed the crime "as an act of domination over them." They consider that he "felt a deep contempt for her ex-wife, whom he considered inferior due to her feminine condition", called her and sent her threatening messages and decided to kill her "as an act of imposition and domination".
They also concluded that the defendant had a feeling of superiority over his ex-mother-in-law and ex-sister-in-law, "whom he considered inferior due to their female condition, which contributed to his decision to kill them as an act of imposition on them."
In addition to the aggravating circumstance of having committed them for gender discrimination, the jurors recognized the extenuating circumstance of collaboration, since, after killing his ex-wife, Sandra Boquete Jamardo (39 years old); his ex-sister-in-law, Alba (27); and her former mother-in-law, Elena Jamardo (58), told the Civil Guard where she had thrown the revolver, which made it possible for her to intervene in the Tambre riverbed.
The Court has imposed on him, for the murder of his ex-partner, the sentence of 24 and a half years in jail; for the murder of the mother of his ex-wife, 23 and a half years in prison; and, for his ex-sister-in-law, reviewable permanent prison (for having been previously convicted of two murders, as established in article 140.2 of the Penal Code).
The events occurred in the Pontevedra town of Valga in September 2019, when the murderer had been divorced from his ex-wife for a year and eight months. A few days before the crime, he bought a revolver and a box of ammunition. On September 16, he took it and went to the home where his ex-wife and their children lived, knowing that at that time they were leaving by car to go to school. as they usually did.
To surprise her and prevent her from having the possibility of fleeing, he placed his vehicle in front of the entrance gate of the farm and waited for it to open, he got in and headed towards her in a rude manner, coming up to the driver's window. From that position, she fired four shots at him, killing him instantly. The minors witnessed how the defendant shot his mother because they were occupying the rear seats of the vehicle.
When she was leaving the place, she found herself face to face with the vehicle occupied by her ex-mother-in-law and her ex-sister-in-law, who were going to the house because she had called them for help. He followed them and fired four shots at his former mother-in-law. Then, as her ex-sister-in-law tried to help her brother, she shot him too.
They all died immediately in the presence of the children, who remained crouched in a corner of the farm. As the jurors concluded, he expressly wanted his youngest children to witness how he killed his ex-wife and mother of the children, with the consequent suffering that it entailed for them, which is why he committed the crime when they were preparing to go to school. .
"He was fully aware of the presence and proximity of the minors at the time of killing their mother, grandmother and aunt, as well as that such a traumatic and violent vision undermined or could seriously undermine their mental integrity, causing serious sequelae given their short age. age, family and affective relationship with the victims, the fact that the events occurred at their home and the violent and surprising nature of the attack," the jury said.
Thus, it also sentences him as the perpetrator of two crimes of psychic injury to his children to nine years in prison, withdraws his parental authority over them and prohibits him from residing in the municipality of Valga for 32 years. He imposes another 2 years on him for illegal possession of weapons.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
