The Provincial Prosecutor's Office of Barcelona and the private prosecution are requesting 26 years in prison for Santi Laiglesia for the murder of Helena Jubany in Sabadell, with a request of 20 years for murder and another six for illegal detention. The case is now heading to a preliminary hearing in which the magistrate will have to decide whether the case proceeds to oral trial before a Jury Court.
The accusation arrives almost twenty-five years after the crime and is supported by expert evidence incorporated in the reopening of the case, including handwriting analyses and DNA samples. At the same time, the parties request the provisional dismissal for the other investigated person, Xavi Jiménez.
The prosecution places the crime on the rooftop of number 48 Calvet Estrella street
Helena Jubany died in December 2001 when she was thrown from the rooftop of the building at number 48 Calvet Estrella street in Sabadell. The Prosecutor's Office maintains that Santi Laiglesia actively participated in the murder, possibly with the complicity of third parties.
According to the indictment, before taking her to the rooftop, they drugged her to leave her unconscious. Afterwards, they stripped her of her clothes and doused her with cologne before throwing her off the roof.
The civil liability claim amounts to 600,000 euros for the victim's parents and siblings. The sentence request totals 20 years for murder and six for illegal detention.
The case reopened in 2020 incorporates DNA and handwriting analysis
The procedure was reopened in 2020 after years of media exposure. The formulation of the accusation incorporates expert evidence obtained or recovered long after the events, with a prominent weight of handwriting analyses and DNA samples.
In addition to the accused, the parties propose the testimony of about thirty witnesses. This list includes relatives of Helena Jubany, Ana Echaguibel, Xavi Jiménez himself, a dozen members of the Unió Excursionista de Sabadell, and relatives of Montserrat Careta, Laiglesia's ex-partner who committed suicide in prison in 2002.
The Jubany family has avoided new public statements at this stage of the proceedings. In a statement, they have maintained that "we reiterate our commitment to the truth and the memory of Helena".
The next procedural phase will be a preliminary hearing in which the magistrate will decide whether Santi Laiglesia sits on the bench before a Jury Court, while the prosecutions request the provisional dismissal for Xavi Jiménez.