On April 9, the high-profile trial against Daniel Sancho begins in Thailand after being accused of the murder and dismemberment of the body of Edwin Arrieta on the Thai island of Koh Pha Ngan at the beginning of last August. The judicial process will take place between April 9 and May 3, and there will be a total of 15 days through which 57 witnesses will pass, 27 of them on behalf of the defense of the accused, who could be sentenced to the death penalty.
A few weeks ago, Rodolfo Sancho's son made surprising statements to the EFE Agency, in which he was "sure" of his "acquittal" since he had acted in "self-defense." "that they are going to acquit me because it will be proven that it was self-defense," he declared in mid-March.
Now, just when there are four days left until the trial begins, the spokesperson for the Sancho family and the accused's lawyer, Carmen Balfagón, visited the Sonsoles Ónega program to give the latest news on the defense and condition of the Spanish chef. ''Okay, I'm looking forward to the trial starting because these eight months have been hard,'' the lawyer declared.
The father of the alleged murderer, Rodolfo Sancho, is also calm, although "tired from all the work he had done." ''The cause is known better than any lawyer or criminologist,'' he commented. On the other hand, Daniel Sancho's lawyer assured that the Spanish chef was going to speak at the end of the trial. ''We must be respectful of the procedure that has been planned for the cause. First the prosecution witnesses will speak, those presented by the prosecutor and then those from the defense. And Daniel will have the last word,' she said.
To the question of whether there was evidence to sentence him to the death penalty, Carmen Balfagón responded with a resounding no. ''There is none for either the death penalty or life imprisonment. At most we are in a reckless homicide because Edwin Arrieta dies as a result of a fall during a fight (...) Daniel did not kill Edwin Arrieta and if it is true that he hid the body,' she pointed out.
Regarding the reason why Edwin Arrieta's parents will not be able to testify, the lawyer assured that the court did not have the necessary means for them to testify by videoconference from Colombia. ''There are no technical means for that statement to be made, is what they have said. The time difference and the media have had a lot of influence,' she revealed. Furthermore, the lawyer confessed to having full confidence in justice. ''I trust that you believe what really happened,'' she asserted.
Moments later, Carmen Balfagón insisted that there was no place to talk about premeditated murder. ''What person who intends to kill goes to a supermarket to buy the items that he is going to use with a camera that can be seen as soon as he enters? (...) In June she extended her trip to the island and if she had it premeditated she would leave immediately or she would not rent a motorcycle (...) There are many indications, but there is no evidence,'' she explained.
