84-year-old Mallorcan man acquitted of the killing of a robber

Pau Rigo in court on Thursday. | Jaume Morey

Andrew EdePalma22/11/2024 08:54Updated at 09:28
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Pau Rigo was 77 when he shot and killed one of two men who had broken into his house in Porreres on February 24, 2018.

Now 84, and following a retrial, he has finally been acquitted of the deliberate killing of 25-year-old Mauricio Escobar.

A jury heard the case that had returned to trial on November 7, the Balearic High Court having ordered the retrial because of various errors related to the first trial's verdict.

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Among evidence was the fact that on December 6, 2017, two hooded men had stolen 30,000 euros from him. They had referred to themselves as the 'Devil's Gang'. It was, the court was told, a "traumatic experience". So when Mauricio and Fredy Escobar broke in nearly three months later, he acted "in order to save his life and that of his wife".

The jury concluded that he had not intended to kill Mauricio. He had fired his shotgun at random without taking aim. Mauricio was hit in the abdomen and died some days later. Pau Rigo "used the only defensive means available to him at that moment". He cried on leaving the court and was comforted by relatives.

As for Fredy Escobar, he was found guilty of assault and causing injury. The prosecutor is seeking six years. The two others involved in the robbery, Marcos Rotger and José Antonio Sánchez (aka Pep Merda), both face three years in prison.