THE killer of an American-Chinese tourist walking the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route has been found guilty, exactly two years to the day since his victim vanished.
Denise Pikka Thiem, then 41, sent an email on April 5, 2015 titled 'Hello from Astorga', where she was staying at one of the pilgrim hostels along the famous Camino de Santiago hike.
Nobody heard anything further from her, and her body was found in September of that year with her hands sawn off.
Miguel Ángel Muñoz Blas, then aged 39, lived in a derelict and remote farmhouse near Astorga (León province) and was said to have often shouted insults at pilgrims and hassled the female ones.
He took police to the site of Denise's body, later bragging on Facebook about how he had been clever enough to find her.
But police say the spot was so secluded that nobody would have discovered it by accident.
The private prosecution, led by Denise's brother and other family members, has reduced its request for the accused to go to prison for 22 years down to 20, since the magistrate says there was no proof of wilful violence intended to cause human suffering.
Denise's hands having been cut off was believed to have been a posthumous mutilation aimed at hiding evidence of a possible physical fight as she tried to break away from her killer.
Ms Pikka Thiem's family applied for compensation to the tune of €150,000 for her brother and €100,000 for her parents, but the court has reduced this to €80,000 for Denise's parents and €30,000 for her brother.
The family has also applied for an additional five-year jail sentence for aggravated robbery, since it is thought Muñoz Blas stole Denise's money and valuables.
A jury comprising eight women and one man voted eight-to-one to find Muñoz Blas guilty of murder, and all nine consider him guilty of aggravated robbery.
But the magistrate did not consider it proven that the accused had put up false signposts to lure pilgrims off the trail and onto his land.
The diminished responsibility claim, of Muñoz Blas suffering from a severe psychiatric illness preventing him from being aware of the nature and quality of his actions, has been thrown out.
Muñoz Blas, now 41, initially admitted to the female judge he had killed Denise, but later backtracked and said he had confessed under duress due to 'police pressure' following his arrest in Grandas de Salime (Asturias).
When the trial started on March 14 this year, Muñoz Blas declined to comment.
The killer's defence solicitor Vicente Prieto says the verdict is 'unjust' and that he will appeal on his client's behalf to the Supreme Court 'and even to the Constitutional Court if necessary'.
He says Muñoz Blas 'is not guilty' and that there is 'no proof against him whatsoever'.
Prieto has applied for the culprit to be moved to a prison in Madrid so he is nearer his family.
He has been in custody since September 11, 2015 and when his final sentence is passed, could be locked up for 25 years.
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