Costa del Sol
McArdle found guilty of manslaughter, not murder in Málaga Provincial Court
By h.b. - Oct 7, 2008 - 5:30 PM
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The Irishman from Louth, Michael Dermot McArdle, has today been found guilty of manslaughter in Málaga Provincial Court, with the nine jurors reaching a majority verdict just before noon.
However they said the case for a murder charge had not been proven against McArdle who was alleged to have thrown his wife Kelly-Anne to her death from the fourth floor of a Marbella hotel in 2000.
Asked a series of questions by the judge, Fernando González, they agreed that she had fallen from the balcony during a row with her husband, but that he did not intend to kill her, and that he had made an attempt to stop her from falling.
However, neither did she fall, as the defence had claimed, by tripping accidentally.
Sentencing comes from the judge later. The prosecutor, Carlos Yañez, has called for three years in prison, while the family is asking for a four year sentence.