27 apr 2024 om 12:50 Update: 35 min. geleden
The Spanish man who was convicted last year of killing filmmaker Wouter van Luijn has been acquitted of robbery with violence on appeal. The prison sentence for Adrián HF has been reduced from 6.5 years to 3 years.
Last July, HF heard a prison sentence of 3.5 years for violent robbery and 3 years for manslaughter. In addition, he had to pay Van Luijn’s surviving relatives 150,000 euros in damages. The original total sentence was 8 years.
Van Luijn (34) was robbed by HF and several others on July 13, 2018 in Son Banya, a notorious slum in Palma on the Spanish island of Mallorca. The filmmaker was severely beaten, causing him to lose consciousness. HF then took him to hospital, where the victim died.
In 2020, four underage boys were acquitted of involvement in Van Luijn’s death. HF remained as the main suspect.
HF’s lawyer had previously argued that the filmmaker had consumed drugs and alcohol. The judge did not agree that Van Luijn died as a result. According to the judge, if Van Luijn had not been hit so hard, he would still be alive.
‘Money untraceable does not mean that Van Luijn was robbed’
Mallorcan media report that on appeal it became clear that alcohol and drug use – Van Luijn was there to buy drugs together with two others – played a role in the death. The combination of the violent blow, the use of narcotics and a previous aneurysm caused the brain hemorrhage that ultimately killed him.
In the appeal case, the lawyer of the Spanish perpetrator stated that robbery could not be proven. The money that Van Luijn had with him could not be found, but according to the judge, this does not mean that the filmmaker was robbed.
As editor, Van Luijn was responsible for the editing of dozens of feature films, including Brasserie Valentijn (2016) and Muddying fagot (2014). In 2018 he was posthumously awarded a Golden Calf for his work on the drama WE.
