News

Following two days of deliberation, the jury in the case against Diego Yllanes, accused of the murder of Nagore Laffagge in July 2008, have found the psychiatrist not guilty of murder but guilty on the count of homicide with the aggravating circumstance of "abusing his position". Six out of the nine jury members were in agreement over the verdict.

The judges are now left to decide the nature of the prison term to be served by Yllanes.

20-year-old Nagore, from Irun in Gipuzkoa, was killed during the San Fermines celebrations in Pamplona of last year.

She was studying nursing at University in Navarra in the same centre where the accused, a 27-year-old model student at the time of the incident, was practicing psychiatry. Diego Yllanes and Nagore Laffage met during the San Fermines celebrations in Pamplona. The accused later confessed to strangling the nursing student to death on the morning of 7th July, after which he cut off her index finger with a machete and hid her body under his bed.

The sentence

The prosecution have requested twelve and a half years'' prison, for murder and desecration of the body, a reduction from its previous petition of 17 and a half years. The defence are requesting a sentence of 7 years citing extenuating circumstances: the accused was intoxicated at the time he committed the crime and not in full charge of his faculties; he confessed to the crime.

Homicide and murder are two separate concepts in Spain. During the trial, the prosecution accused Yllanes of murder, which is punishable with up to 17-20 years in prison. The charge of homicide, however, is only punishable by a maximum of 12 years in jail.

Statement from the victim''s mother

Asun Casasola, mother of Nagore Laffage, said she was "disappointed" by the jury''s decision. "It''s obvious he''s a murderer," she said.

The verdict comes following a highly-publicised police investigation and trial which has been closely followed by the Basque public. Leaving the court, cries of "it''s cheap to kill women" could be heard.