Trial against man accused of murdering Chilean teen in Spain scheduled to begin tomorrow

SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE.- The first session of the murder trial of Chilean teenager Fernanda Fabiola Urzúa in July of 2007, has been postponed until tomorrow after the attorney representing the defendant, Héctor Fabio Franco Giraldo, announced that she is suffering from a loss of voice.

The trial had been scheduled to begin today with an official statement from the sole defendant in the case, who faces 17 years and 6 months in prison as requested by the public prosecutor's office. Meanwhile, the private and popular prosecution team, representing the Instituto Canario de la Mujer, has requested the maximum penalty of 25 years.

At present, defense attorney Héctor Fabio Franco Giraldo has asked for the minimum penalty for homicide, 8-15 years, as a result of the mitigating factors of confession, crime in a state of rage and uncalled-for delays.

The case has been sensationalized not only in the town of Tenerife, but all over Spain, causing the court where the trial was to begin today to be swarmed with members of the local and national press.

The trial is to be held with a jury of citizens that will be chosen before oral testimonies are given. In addition to the defendant, Fernanda Urzúa's parents, forensic doctors, police, members of the Spanish Civil Guard, as well as individuals that helped in the search to find the young girl's body will be called to the stand to testify.