A judge has ordered the immediate imprisonment of an employee of a nightclub in the Canary Islands, who is accused of killing a customer who was causing an altercation, by restraining him using the “mataleón” technique, which is more commonly known as a headlock in English.
The tragic incident occurred in the early hours of July 27th at a club in Playa del Ingles in the south of Gran Canaria, according to a press release issued today (Wednesday) by the Canary Islands Police Headquarters, which confirmed that the deceased was a British tourist.
After being alerted, through a call made to 091, that a person was lying on the ground with no signs of life close to a nightclub, the National Police went to the scene, where they confirmed that the victim had died.
After cordoning off the area, officers began to gather information from witnesses, other employees of the club, plus friends and the wife of the deceased British man.
Initial police investigations suggested that the cause of death was a heart attack, since, according to acquaintances of the victim, he had been drinking and had taken drugs during the evening.
However, because there were marks on the victim’s neck, his body was taken to the Forensic Anatomical Institute for analysis, while several witnesses told the agents that one of the employees of the establishment had put the man in a headlock to restrain him.
They also said that at one point, the man collapsed to the ground, a story that the agents confirmed when they analysed the establishment's security cameras and that the forensic report confirmed the death by asphyxiation.
Given the risk of the alleged perpetrator fleeing, a search operation was activated which enabled him to be located, arrested and brought before the judicial authorities, who ordered his immediate imprisonment. The detainee is a 47-year-old man, with no previous criminal record, who is accused of a crime of homicide.
