Lewis Briggs was charged with murder following his arrest in 2020

By Kemboi Robert

Lewis Briggs, 24, hung his head in court on Tuesday as he was found guilty of jumping out of his Mercedes in a “surprise attack” and fatally stabbing his “defenseless” victim following an incident turned around and chased him earlier. Ulrich Perez's family was not in the Malaga courtroom at the end of the six-day trial to hear the jury deliver their verdict just over 24 hours after they were sent to deliberate.

Ulrich Perez's family was not in the Malaga courtroom at the end of the six-day trial to hear the jury deliver their verdict just over 24 hours after they were sent to deliberate.

The British expat's mother, Michelle, burst into tears when she learned her son could be jailed for almost 25 years in the coming days as two plainclothes police officers led him into custody pending sentencing. The nine jurors decided by an 8-1 majority that it was proven that Briggs murdered 19-year-old Ulrich near his home in Diana Park, between the resorts of Marbella and Estepona, as his victim was returning from there, the foreman admitted The jury also unanimously concluded that the personal trainer, who boxed at a gym linked to Irish crime boss Daniel Kinahan, changed the number plates on his rented Mercedes with British plates after his horror crime to throw the police off the trail.

Ulrich died after being kicked and then stabbed in the heart shortly after 2:30 p.m. on November 18, 2020. He had scolded Briggs less than two minutes earlier for driving too fast toward a crosswalk where he was standing.

The expat, who said he boxed professionally after taking the stand on the first day of his trial last Monday, claimed he accidentally stabbed his victim, although he admitted he turned around and out with a knife from the glove compartment got out of his car.

But the juror rejected Briggs' defense's closing statement in which he claimed a manslaughter conviction and a 15-month prison sentence was the right decision, saying: “We find by a majority of 8-1 that the defendant has been proven kicked and stabbed his victim.” When he was surprised and unexpectedly attacked, he had no chance to defend himself against an order for his mother.

Briggs' lawyer Ana Maria Hidalgo Perez urged the judge, who warned the convicted murderer in open court that he would get “at least 15 years,” to sentence him to the minimum sentences for each crime.

Their attempts to extend his interim conditional bail after he was released from prison early last year after two years on remand were rejected after prosecutors convinced Judge Briggs there was a “high risk of absconding” following the jury's verdict .

Ulrich's family had to watch CCTV footage showing the murder during the trial in the Audiencia provincial court in Malaga. The footage, along with a police report into the crime, is believed to have played a key role in the jury's verdict.