Crime

Twelve years for Costa de la Calma murder

Warren Lyttle was in court today, 20 months after the murder in Costa de la Calma. | Alejandro Sepulveda

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma25/09/2017 00:00

Warren Lyttle, the 52-year-old Briton who was charged with the murder of his wife, Lisa Jane, in Costa de la Calma in January 2016, has accepted a twelve-year prison sentence. This is the sentence that has been agreed among various parties other than just the defence - the prosecution service, the Balearic attorney's office, and representatives of the couple's daughter, who came from London to testify. The prosecution had initially called for twenty years.

Lyttle admitted in court today that he strangled his wife with the cord of a mobile phone charger. He had said all along that this was the result of a sex game and had told the judge after his arrest that he had been drinking and taking drugs before the events of the early hours of 23 January last year. At the trial, however, he admitted that there had been an argument.

He has also accepted an indemnity of 180,000 euros for his daughter, who was nineteen at the time of the murder. In addition, he will not be able to go within thirty kilometres of his daughter and his grandchild for a period of 22 years. The trial is expected to be wrapped up tomorrow (Tuesday). It had been scheduled to continue until Thursday, but further witness and expert statements are now considered to be unnecessary.

According to his daughter, there had been cases of mistreatment of Lisa that had been reported to UK authorities. At the time of his arrest, the Guardia Civil maintained that her death occurred after a heated row over money. Lyttle contacted the emergency services at 3.20am on 23 January. The autopsy report suggested that his wife had not tried to defend herself and that she had been dead for some time before the call was made.

Lyttle said in court that not a single day has since passed without him having regretted what happened.