Jury finds José Bretón guilty of murdering son and daughter

A jury unanimously found José Bretón guilty of murdering his two small children and burning their bodies to cover up the crime.

The seven women and two men who delivered the verdict had been deliberating since Monday on the facts surrounding the disappearance of Ruth, six, and José, two, from a park where they had gone with their father on October 8, 2013.

The father was always the main suspect in a high-profile case that had the police searching for the bodies for months with ground-penetrating radar and trained dogs. Although the children were never found either dead or alive, investigators discovered the remains of a large bonfire on an estate owned by Bretón’s parents outside Córdoba. Teeth found in the ashes were identified by forensic experts as belonging to children aged around two and six years.

Bretón always claimed that he simply lost his children, but the prosecution held that he killed them as revenge against his wife, who had recently asked him for a divorce. Bretón has been described by psychologists as extremely cold and detached, while police officers who interrogated him underscored his apparent lack of concern about his own children and his visceral verbal attacks against his wife Ruth Ortiz.

On Friday, Bretón listened impassively while the jury said they considered it a 

proven fact, after hearing the 144 expert witnesses at the trial, that he purchased the sedatives Orfidal and Motiván to put his children to sleep.

It also considered it proven that he bought large amounts of diesel fuel to incinerate their bodies in Las Quemadillas, the estate where he made one last call to his wife – who did not pick up - before going ahead with his criminal plan.

Finally, the court of Andalucía confirmed the 40-year sentence for José Bretón.  The cort has also rejected the appeals that the prosecution lawyer, Reposo Carretero, filed for them to return the skeletal remains of the children.

SYNONYMS:

unanimously: with one voice

guilty: responsible

burning: to destroy by fire

cover up: camouflage, eclipse

suspect: speculate, suppose

high-profile:

ground-penetrating:

bonfire: large outdoor fire

ashes: remains, human body remains after cremation

prosecution: accusation

revenge: vengeance

detached: indifferent, desinterested

underscored: to be emphasize

visceral: emotional

witnesses: spectator

trial: case, prosecution

incinerate: cremate

40-year sentence: penal of 40 years

SUMARY:

Jose Bretón, Ruth and Jose's father killed his children in Córdoba last year (2013) for revenge against his wife who had recently asked him for a divorce. The crime succeed at the suburbs of Córdoba where the family used to spend their holidays. Bretón drugged their children and then he burned them in a bonfire. The defendant always said he wasn't guilty because he just lost his children in the park but the police found six and two children's teeth in the ashes of the bonfire which could be of Ruth and José. That's why Jose Bretón is the only suspect in this case and it's accused of murdering. After a long trial, the jury confirmed the 40-year-sentence for Bretón. 

By Paula Polo and Gemma Barca 2D