The family of a man who was killed in Spain more than 12 years ago have been given fresh hope after a dossier detailing potential new persons of “significant interest” was prepared for police.
Private investigators have identified 13 French nationals who they believe may hold crucial information about the death of Craig Mallon in Lloret de Mar on May 19, 2012.
The 26-year-old civil engineer, from Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, was attacked following an altercation with a group of men at his brother’s stag party.
The potential witnesses, whose identities are known to the Sunday Mail but cannot be revealed at this stage, include four men who were at the scene as well as nine of their friends who were also holidaying in the area at the time.
Witnesses recalled French men speaking at the scene but the case has never been solved.
A specialist team, led by retired Strathclyde Police detective David Swindle, have been probing the case and have now discovered the 13 French nationals they believe may have crucial information.
Swindle, who set up Victims Abroad to help families who lose loved ones, and a team of investigators are now preparing to hand a 27-page dossier identifying the potential witnesses, their names and locations, to Spanish prosecutors in January.
He said: “Someone in that town must know who killed Craig.
“Our team has identified 13 people of significant interest whom we want police to speak to.
“French people as suspects featured from day one of the Spanish police investigation due to reports from witnesses at the scene.
“Witnesses recalled hearing “Fils de pute! Fils de pute” shouted in French at the time which translates as ‘son of a bitch’.
“However to this day, there have never been any statements taken from any French people.”
It is understood they are a group who have been friends for more than 15 years and regularly holiday together.
Swindle said: “We have compiled a detailed dossier of four French guys on CCTV near the scene.
“However investigations then lead us to discover they were part of a larger group of their French associates who were in Lloret de Mar the weekend Craig was killed.
“It turns out there were not just four, but a group of 13 friends on holiday together.”
Investigator Debbie Smirthwaite, who is a multilingual researcher, translator and Victim Adviser who has worked in Spain for 30 years and lives near Lloret de Mar, compiled the detailed dossier.
Debbie, from the Midlands, is fluent in Spanish, Catalan, and Portuguese, was handed the case in 2019.
She said: “The case first came to me with the four men identified on CCTV but the turning point was when we found that the men were part of a bigger group.
“Craig’s death is a homicide and it is still possible to find out more information to progress this inquiry further than the Spanish judicial process that has.
“I went through thousands of photos of people who were in Lloret de Mar from the night Craig died.
“It was almost luck that I came across a photo of the group together in a restaurant that night. It was actually the restaurant that had posted the photo of them eating. The restaurant no longer exists.
“Finding out there was a big group means there are more possibilities of people to speak to in order to find out if anyone knows or saw anything.
“We think the police should be speaking to them as they may know something.
“Furthermore, if there is a person out there who thinks it’s okay to go around throwing random punches, who’s son is going to be next?
“The person who threw the punch may not even know he killed Craig as they left the scene but they should know.
“For Craig’s family and for society, they need to know the consequences of their actions.”
The investigation found that at 06:39 a.m CCTV video shows four men entering the Lloret local Police Station to pay a fine following a moving traffic violation which occurred at 05.46am.
The same four men are then detected on video cam footage at the square, where Craig died, around the time the incident was ongoing between 06:18 and 06.19am.
Debbie also spoke to several witnesses who again refer to a group of French speaking men being at the scene.
The new information comes to light after Mr Swindle says Spanish police had previously initiated Commission Rogatoire, a formal request for judicial assistance from a foreign court to another court.
It was applied in order to interview two French men, who had checked out of their hotel early.
However it was later abandoned by authorities and was from those identified on CCTV.
Mr Swindle’s team are now trying to source a lawyer to present the information to prosecutors.
He said: “Now the difficulty we face is getting a lawyer to present the dossier and accompanying report from me to The Court.”
Craig’s dad Ian says he has been tormented that his son’s killer has lived a normal life for 12 years.
His wife Antoinette passed away in 2018 having never seen justice for her son.
Ian said: “From the day Craig died, our lives have been destroyed and no one cares.
“We are 12 years down the line and are no further forward.
“It’s been one step forward and two back, it’s like banging your head off a wall.
“It is so frustrating that nothing has been done and this has consumed my life.
“It’s as if Craig’s life meant nothing and the British government, the Scottish government, have not been asking why nothing has been done to catch my son’s killer.
“I feel as if I have let Craig down. I just want some form of closure and to move on with life.”
The Sunday Mail have contacted Police in Lloret de Mar for comment.
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