JULEN CASE: Totalan land owner attends court to protest innocence over toddler’s death

DAVID SERRANO, the owner of the land where Julen died, has attended court to protest his innocence over the two-year-old’s death.

As he arrived at a Malaga court as part of an investigation into an alleged negligent manslaughter, Serrano told Spanish media he is, ‘dejected.’

Accompanied by his lawyers, Antonio Flores Vila and Juan Martinez Soler, Serrano came to court in a pre-hearing before he testifies in March. Mr Soler previously claimed his client was being made, ‘the scapegoat,’ after Julen died at the bottom of a 71-metre well on Serrano’s plot of land in Totalan in January.

The man is so far the only person who has officially been named as under investigation, while several others have been called as witnesses, including Antonio Sanchez, the man who reportedly drilled the borehole.  According to Mr Soler, while his client is currently the only person named, this could change during the case.

Also appearing as witnesses will be Julen’s parents, Jose Rosello and Victoria Sanchez, David Serrano’s wife, and three hikers who were in the area when the incident occurred and who were the first to help the family.

The judge has also called an engineer, as well as the two Guardia Civil officers who attended the scene first.

David Serrano’s lawyers previously told media Antonio Sanchez left the borehole uncovered after drilling, leaving his client to cover the well with two concrete blocks.  Serrano claimed he had warned Julen’s parents about the hole as they arrived at his property in the Sierra de Totalan.