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| Tenant guilty of hammer murders | Tenant guilty of hammer murders |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| A Spanish man has been found guilty of murdering a Welsh couple who had moved to the Canary Islands for a new life. | A Spanish man has been found guilty of murdering a Welsh couple who had moved to the Canary Islands for a new life. |
| Juan Carmelo Santana, 42, had admitted bludgeoning Brian and Tina Johnson when they called to collect overdue rent at his flat on Fuerteventura in July 2006. | Juan Carmelo Santana, 42, had admitted bludgeoning Brian and Tina Johnson when they called to collect overdue rent at his flat on Fuerteventura in July 2006. |
| The jury rejected his claim he was not in control of his actions because he had taken cocaine and magic mushrooms. | The jury rejected his claim he was not in control of his actions because he had taken cocaine and magic mushrooms. |
| Santana will be sentenced next week. The couple's son Sam, 29, said he was relieved the case was over. | |
| Santana told the jury at Las Palmas criminal court that after killing the couple, he wrapped their bodies in blankets and white plastic bags, carried them to the boot of his car late at night and drove to scrubland where he hid them under a pile of rocks. | Santana told the jury at Las Palmas criminal court that after killing the couple, he wrapped their bodies in blankets and white plastic bags, carried them to the boot of his car late at night and drove to scrubland where he hid them under a pile of rocks. |
| Juan Carmelo Santana killed Brian and Tina Johnson with a hammer | Juan Carmelo Santana killed Brian and Tina Johnson with a hammer |
| "Even now I can't understand what drove me to do what I did - I was totally out of it," he told the court. | "Even now I can't understand what drove me to do what I did - I was totally out of it," he told the court. |
| But the jury returned a unanimous verdict, dismissing Santana's claims that he had acted under the influence of drugs and that he was depressed due to the death of his wife two years earlier. | |
| The jury said: "The defendant acted with intent or could have at least foreseen the consequences of his actions. | |
| "In killing Mr Johnson he deliberately and inhumanely increased the victim's suffering by inflicting unnecessary blows." | |
| The bodies of Mr Johnson, 59, and his 57-year-old wife were discovered four days later by a huntsman out exercising his dogs | The bodies of Mr Johnson, 59, and his 57-year-old wife were discovered four days later by a huntsman out exercising his dogs |
| The trial had heard that Santana had moved the couple's car to a harbour, to give the impression they had taken a ferry to Lanzarote. | The trial had heard that Santana had moved the couple's car to a harbour, to give the impression they had taken a ferry to Lanzarote. |
| The Johnsons had moved to the Spanish island from Mumbles in Swansea, six-and-a-half years earlier and bought a bar with friends. They had run the Park Inn in Mumbles, Swansea, in the 1980s. | The Johnsons had moved to the Spanish island from Mumbles in Swansea, six-and-a-half years earlier and bought a bar with friends. They had run the Park Inn in Mumbles, Swansea, in the 1980s. |
| The prosecution in the case said they expected Santana to be given a 35-year prison term. | The prosecution in the case said they expected Santana to be given a 35-year prison term. |
| State prosecutor Tomás Fernández had argued that Santana "knew perfectly what he was doing" and had killed the Johnsons because he had spent the money his son had given him to pay off the rent owed to the couple. | State prosecutor Tomás Fernández had argued that Santana "knew perfectly what he was doing" and had killed the Johnsons because he had spent the money his son had given him to pay off the rent owed to the couple. |
| The couple's son Sam said he was happy a conviction had been secured and would now try to move on with his life. | |
| "I am pleased at the outcome but nothing can ever bring my parents back," he said. | |
| "At least I now know this man will spend a long time behind bars for what he did. | |
| "I am less happy at the wording of the verdict, particularly the distinction drawn between my mother and father in terms of their suffering. | |
| "What level of suffering did Mum need in order to be equated with my father? My father died instantly but she was left there to die and might possibly be alive today if she had received medical attention." | |
| Mr Johnson added that he would try to get his parents' bodies flown back to Wales. They had been buried temporarily in Fuerteventura in 2006 in case more forensic tests were needed. |