Angry scenes outside the court in Huelva as suspect arrives for questioning in the death of Mari Luz Cortés

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Angry scenes outside the court in Huelva as suspect arrives for questioning in the death of Mari Luz Cortés
By m.p. - Mar 27, 2008 - 7:52 PM

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Santiago del Valle had previously been found guilty of abusing his own daughter and another young girl

Santiago del Valle, the man arrested in connection with the death of five year old Mari Luz Cortés, arrived in court in Huelva shortly after 5 on Thursday afternoon, where a crowd of some 600 people had been waiting outside since the early hours of the morning. He was greeted with shouts of ‘murderer’ from the angry crowd, who were kept back from the court entrance by barriers set up by police. Stones were thrown at del Valle and his sister, along with bottles and sticks, and El Mundo reports that two journalists covering the scene were injured in the avalanche of missiles. One was a cameraman from Cuatro Television, who was taken to hospital in an ambulance. Police were forced to move against the crowd to try and keep and order.

It has meanwhile been reported that del Valle had a pending prison term of more than two and a half years for the sexual abuse of his young daughter, who was the same age as Mari Luz when the abuse took place. He was originally sentenced in 2002, and the sentence was confirmed by a higher court at the end of 2005.

It’s understood that his wife, who was released with charges in the Mari Luz investigation, was also sentenced in the case, and that the couple tried to blame a gym teacher for the abuse suffered by their daughter. The couple’s two daughters, now aged 9 and 15, are in the care of foster families, according to information from El Mundo.

There was no warrant out for his arrest in connection with the sentence, Europa Press reports, but a Seville court had issued an order in March 2006 to locate his whereabouts after ruling that he should serve the term. Juan José López Garzón, central government delegate for Andalucía, told the news agency that del Valle has been under watch by police since the beginning of the investigation into Mari Luz’s disappearance. National Police have also confirmed that they received no warrant for his arrest, and noted that there was insufficient evidence to charge him when he was originally questioned in the investigation.

Del Valle was sentenced by another court in Seville for abusing a nine year old girl, and received a two year suspended sentence in that case.

The body of Mari Luz Cortés was found floating in the Ría de Huelva on 7th March, 54 days after she disappeared from her home in the El Torrejón district of Huelva City during a short trip to the local sweets kiosk. Santiago del Valle has reportedly confessed to police of his involvement in her death, saying she was with him voluntarily and died when she accidentally fell and hit her head.

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