No justice in Spain

The notorious killer who murdered and raped model Sally Ann Bowman has been directly linked to three violent sexual attacks in Spain - for which a Dutch citizen has so far served 11 years in prison.

Chef Mark Dixie was jailed for 34 years after killing the 18-year-old model in London in 2005 and having sex with her while she lay 'dead or dying'.

Following his conviction, Interpol circulated his DNA and it was matched to samples taken by Spanish police over three attempted rapes which took place in Fuengirola, on the Costa del Sol, all between 4.30am and 6am on August 10, 2003.

Despite the match, Dutch citizen Romano van der Dussen, was jailed for the attacks after two of the victims and a witness watching from a window, who called the police, all identified him as the culprit.

He told the court that he had been in Torremolinos, more than 12 miles away, at the time of the attacks but could not produce any evidence of his claim.

He was convicted in May 2005, after spending a year and seven months in prison on remand. He was jailed for 15 and a half years for sexual assault, attempted rape, causing injuries and robbery with violence.

But van der Dussen's DNA was never matched to the DNA found at the scene and his lawyer, Silverio Garcia Sierra, is demanding his release.

He told Spanish daily newspaper El Pais: 'It is a disgrace that Romano van der Dussen continues to be in prison without hardly any judicial procedures being carried-out.

'It should not be possible that there could be negligence when there has been an erroneous conviction. An innocent person in jail should be a priority, but no-one cares.'

When Spanish police initially made the DNA match they immediately told the courts but nothing was done and and van der Dussen remained in prison.

They even ran checks on Dixie and found that he had been living on the popular southern Spanish holiday coast between the end of 2002 and October, 2003 - two months after the three women were attacked.

Analysis of the match made in March, 2007, showed that the samples taken in Fuengirola were 54,000 times more likely to be a mixture of Dixie's DNA and that of one of the victims than of any other two people.

That information was also sent by the police to the courts. But neither the investigating judge in Fuengirola, who first handled van der Dussen's case, nor the court which condemned him in Malaga followed the police recommendation to seek further forensic evidence from Britain.

Now, a judge at a court in the popular resort of Fuengirola has finally decided to re-open the case for which Romano van der Dussen has spent eleven years behind bars.

The El Pais report added that Australia is also seeking Dixie as an alleged murderer and serial rapist.

Original report here

　

　

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