May 13, 2014. Dos Hermanas
A 46-year-old homeless who died after being burned up by three young men of 25, 24 and 21 years old who humiliated him burning his beard and who videotaped the aggression for broadcast. The victim had already agreed to the “game” that proposed the three young men in previous occasions, a dangerous “fun” that is widespread on the internet and that consists in recording some scenes of homeless people burning their beards in exchange for money. On this occasion, the suspects paid him ten euros and placed him in a container to proceed with the burning. Finally, the flames spread through his body and could not get out of the container.
The Judge of First Instance and Instruction No. 3 in Dos Hermanas (Sevilla) set the attackers free after the death of the homeless, because she understood that there was no “causal link” between these alleged facts and the final cause of death. Judge affirmed that final cause of death were not the scorches and wounds related to the attack but various diseases that Miguel suffered, including syphilis, pneumonia and HIV.
The partner of the victim, however, told the police that Miguel told her before dying that some boys had sprayed him with inflammable liquid and had set him on fire. According to the Judge, the declaration of the partner of the victim “does not correspond to the findings of the forensic report and autopsy, in which it is reported a low body surface affected -only six percent- and no signs of smoke inhalation, arguments that do not match the dynamics of the facts” offered by the witness.