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Date Published: 13/11/2024

Irish man faces 21 years in Spain for strangling his girlfriend

The Dublin man has been charged with murder this week in northern Spain

A 32-year-old Irish man, remanded in custody for the last 16 months in a Salou prison, has this week been charged with the July 2023 murder of his girlfriend.

South Dublin tourist Kirsty Ward was found strangled to death at the adult-only Magnolia Hotel on the Costa Dorada and her boyfriend, Keith Byrne, was quickly arrested on suspicion of murder. Now, after being formally charged on Tuesday November 12, prosecutors are seeking a 21-year-prison sentence for the brutal killing.

The court in the north of Spain, close to Tarragona, heard that Byrne strangled his partner with the cord from a hair straightener after she broke off their 8-month relationship following a row. A lengthy investigation ensued into the death of the 36-year-old woman, but the accused has always maintained his innocence. He claims he found Kirsty in the hotel corridor with the ligature already around her neck.

However, the Tarragona-based public prosecutors have painted a very different picture of how the events of that tragic night unfolded:

“On July 2nd, 2023, after a new row that afternoon in their hotel room, she [Kirsty] decided to end their relationship, following which the accused man left.

“About 9pm the same day, he returned to the hotel and had another row with the victim in their hotel room.

“During that row, the accused, unwilling to accept the break-up, and with the aim of causing death or knowing that was a possibility, got hold of the power cable of a hair straightener, put it round the victim’s neck and immediately pulled it tight, strangling her and causing her death by mechanical asphyxiation.”

The couple arrived in Spain on holiday on June 30, 2023, and had reportedly been arguing throughout their stay. It’s understood that Kirsty was under the influence of alcohol, cocaine, Benzoylecgonine and Lidocaine at the time of her attack, “which prevented her from defending herself in equal conditions, leaving her unable to do anything to avoid her death.”

In addition to the 21-year-prison sentence if convicted, lawyers are also demanding that Byrne pay a total of 250,000 euros in compensation to his victim’s son and mother.

In other news: Injured British climber rescued from Malaga cliff face

Image: @feministes_cat

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