Celestino Rodríguez in court on Monday. | Alejandro Sepúlveda

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Celestino Rodríguez, accused of the murder of Veronika Hoffmann in Colonia Sant Jordi in September 2019, acknowledged in court on Monday that he had stabbed her with a kitchen knife and had done so during an argument. "I lost my head. I am very sorry for the family. Yes, I killed her; it was because she was driving me crazy."

The prosecution says that he went to the kitchen at Frau Hoffmann's home, took a knife and, without her having been able to defend herself, stabbed her in different parts of the body. He has been in prison since the crime, for which the prosecution is calling for sixteen years and payment of 100,000 euros compensation to Frau Hoffmann's children.

The Balearics attorney's office has maintained that there was a romantic relationship between the pair. He has denied this, and the Prosecutor's Office doesn't believe there was such a relationship. He explained in court that he was offered accommodation when Frau Hoffmann learned that he was living on the streets. The two had got to know each other through a cat colony association.

He had been living at the property for some three weeks, during which time he was unable to ascertain if Frau Hoffmann had a partner. "She used to go out a lot," was all he had to say. On the day of the crime, there had already been arguments. "She screamed at me. I didn't understand what the problem was." She went out and on her return, there was another argument.

He explained to the jury at the court in Palma that he had had four or five drinks and had ended up "going crazy". He insisted that he had not intention of killing her. "But she started yelling at me for no reason. I didn't understand her. That's when I blew my top." He went to find a knife. "I don't know where I got it from or how I got it. She was standing in front of me. I stabbed her. I don't remember how many times - three or four."

After killing her, he closed the door and sat down. He knew the police would come. He didn't call the emergency services. He didn't attempt to leave, as he knew what he had done. Neighbours knocked on the door, but he didn't understand them because they spoke German.

He told the court that, when the police did come, he didn't deny having killed her. He confessed straightaway. "They asked me - 'What have you done?'. I said to the officers - 'Look on the terrace. I did it. I have killed her'."