The jury unanimously declares the two defendants guilty of the crime of Patraix

In the background, at both ends, María Jesús M., on the left, and Salvador R., on the right, the first day of trial for the crime of Patraix.EFE / EFE

The popular jury that judges the crime of Patraix has taken six hours to reach a verdict and has unanimously declared María Jesús M., 30, and her ex-lover Salvador R., 50, guilty of "intentional death ”From Antonio Navarro, her husband, on August 16, 2017. The members of the jury, five women and four men, have considered proven that the defendant planned with Salvador to end Antonio's life.

Now it will be the magistrate who presides over the court, José María Gómez, who in a few days will set the penalties for each one.

The defense of María Jesús has announced its intention to appeal the ruling.

The nine members of the jury had left after one in the afternoon this Friday to deliberate on the stabbing death of Antonio Navarro, husband of the accused, in August three years ago in a garage located on Calamocha street, in the Patraix district in Valencia.

They had to decide whether Salvador, who confessed to stabbing the engineer, did so on his own initiative or in agreement with María Jesús, known colloquially as Maje.

After months of police investigations, with surveillance and recorded conversations, the Police arrested in January 2018 the now accused, who had met three years before in a hospital in Valencia where they both worked - she as a nurse and he as a health assistant. and where they started an emotional relationship.

Maje's lover confessed to the responsibility of the crime and exonerated her at first, but months later, already in preventive detention, he incriminated her.

“Did you ask him to kill him and not fail?” His lawyer snapped at the hearing.

Salvador nodded emphatically.

Maje denied that she planned the crime and only admitted that, once the assistant told her that he had killed her husband, she did not go to the police to avoid being incriminated: "I only thought of myself and the consequences it could have."

They both spoke at the end of the trial to apologize to Antonio's family.

The prosecutor in the case, Vicente Devesa, requests 22 years in prison for María Jesús M. for a crime of murder (with the aggravation of kinship) and 18 years for Salvador R., after maintaining in the trial that it was a crime planned by the accused and executed by him and that without the help of Maje (access to the garage keys, since the lock was not forced; the victim's schedules, absence of cameras or description of the car and the parking space), there would have been no been able to commit the crime.

“There comes a time when he falls madly in love with the accused and is dependent on her.

She does everything with her, takes her purchases, takes out transportation tickets and even buys her skirts, "said the prosecutor in his final statement.

Miguel Ferrer, lawyer for the victim's family, claims 25 years for her and has lowered to 16 (at the beginning he asked for 21 years) the jail request for the accused.

The defense of María Jesús M. asked for her free acquittal after maintaining throughout the process that she did not plan or collaborate in the murder.

"There is not a single direct, clear, effective evidence that shows that Maje agreed with Salva to kill her husband, much less how he had to kill him," his lawyer Javier Boix argued in his conclusions last Thursday.

Maje's defender insisted that there is no motive for the crime, neither love nor financial (due to the victim's inheritance).

On the other hand, Salvador's defender, Julita Martínez, who also asked for free acquittal, has revised the qualification and proposes seven and a half years in prison, although she has asked that the confession of her client and the offer be taken into account as mitigating factors. of a pension plan to meet the financial compensation requested by the victim's relatives.

“Salva is a dependent person and he told her that he would do anything for her” and that servility was maintained before and after the crime.

"He always thought that they would arrange a life together," he added.

After reading the verdict, the lawyer who has represented the family of the victim, has assured that the parents of the deceased are satisfied with the sentence because "justice has been done."