Rafael AB avoided the maximum sentence allowed under the Penal Code. The prosecutor’s office and the special prosecutor’s office had sought an indefinite and auditable prison term for the man who was arrested. He was found guilty by a popular jury in connection with the arson of his ex-wife’s home on a street in order to exact revenge. A three-year-old boy died, and two young children along with their mother sustained serious injuries. The judge of the First Division of the County Court sentenced Rafael to twenty-two prison terms and ordered him to pay nearly €375,000 in compensation for the child’s death and the injuries suffered by the other victims.
Based on a guilty verdict delivered by a popular jury on July 6, the sentence charges the defendant with arson, manslaughter, and three counts of bodily harm that endangered the lives and safety of those around him.
The presiding judge rejected the idea of imposing a life sentence for the defendant’s alleged murder plot and the claim that the death of the child resulted from murder rather than manslaughter.
“He decided to take revenge on his former partner”
The facts, as established by the jury, unfolded on December 10, 2020, when the accused traveled from the Murcian town of San Javier to Valencia. He went to a five-story building in the Malva-rosa district where he believed his ex-partner had moved to.
Unable to see or speak with her around 7:00 p.m., the defendant reportedly resolved to seek revenge on his ex-wife. He entered the dwelling, ascended to the fourth floor, and set fire to a sofa, some furniture, and belongings stacked near the apartment entrance, where he supposed the woman remained.
On the day of the fire, firefighters attended to the injured children and helped them reach safety. The incident produced a large blaze and dense smoke that spread to the building’s upper floors, where the woman and her three young children resided.
This neighbor, together with the children aged seven, nine, and the youngest at three, attempted to descend the stairs to the fourth floor to escape, but the smoke and flames thwarted their efforts.
The youngest child died from smoke inhalation, while the mother and the two older siblings sustained injuries from poisoning and burns.
The sentence currently imposed by the First Division of the Valencian Court is not final and may be appealed before the Civil and Criminal Division of the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community. (Source: court records and official proceedings)