Has justice been done??? Partaloa thugs!!!

[lindablyth32]

Sorry it's taken me a few days to respond to comments on this post, we drove back to England, it was a long tiring journey after a long tiring week, so we are only just recovering, firstly I'd like to thank you all for your comments and kind words. 
I hope that I haven't been mis understood or looked upon differently for our decisions in court or being charitable toward Nigel, the decisions were more about self preservation and protecting our sanity, if we were more confident in the legal system in Spain or had this happened in the uk, where we know the situation would have been completely different, we would have gone all the way (I have family very high up in the police in the uk and they could not believe how crazy and corrupt this had all worked out). After the way things had gone with the witnesses changing statements, the charge being changed, and no guarantee from our solicitor that my own and other peoples statements that went against Nigel's defence were going to be heard or taken into account, I even had a recording of a conversation with the witness admitting he had changed his statement because of the intimidation he had suffered, that could not be heard, in the end we decided not to take the risk of it all being left to the judge, Nigel had a very good lawyer and lots of very willing liars, we needed to hear Nigel admit to what he had done, so we could move on, we couldn't risk him getting away with it completely.  It goes without saying that we would have been happier if Nigel was in prison and not a risk to others but we had to do what was best for us on the day.
Spain and Partaloa is not all bad and we look forward to getting back over there, when we can, to visit luv Linda xxxx

[zilnor]

So sorry to learn about the horrendous few years your family has suffered. You have shown great courage. I can fully understand why you decided to return to England, and I hope you can now enjoy life again.

We lived for seven years near Partaloa and we regularly went there for a morning coffee, or a menu del dia. A really nice Spanish village.

This vicious thug now has a criminal record. If he attacks anyone else, I am sure the courts will be much tougher on him.

I wish you and your family well.

[frankie4748]

Well, Lynda, I had read your original thread after Darren had been attacked, and my heart went out to you all. I don't know you, but I felt you had given an excellent account of the terrible incident -your words rang very true. I am horrified that the attacker has, by intimidation, persuaded the eye-witness to change his original statement. I can only imagine how this would affect your lives. It is a great pity that you have felt compelled to leave this warm and friendly land, but I am not surprised that all of the trouble has been caused by other Brits.

I know that there is good and bad in every culture (whether they be Brits or Spanish, French or German etc), but in these beautiful Spanish villages, 99% of the residents are law-abiding, friendly folk.  It is such a shock when our fellow countrymen turn against us in this horrifying way, I really do have every sympathy for you and your family. I wish all of you the very best for your future, and regret that I didn't meet you in person while you were still here. It would have been a privelege to meet such a strong person, I think you are one of the bravest people I have heard of, deciding to speak out against the bullies and thugs of Partaloa.

I am sorry that the sentence was so ludicrous, and NO, I don't think justice was done. The fact that the thug is a grandfather has no bearing on the case, and it is a travesty that his sentence was suspended. But throughout all this, you have managed to hold your head high - good on you, girl, enjoy your future, you all so deserve a peaceful life after this ordeal.

Lastly, thank you for the update, you write so elequently.   I raise a glass to you and yours, may all your (future) troubles be little ones.   CHEERS    FrankieD  (Oria)

[raysun]

If linda and darren were my family  then the courts would be the least of this mans problems.

[Roy Thomas]

Although I wish Linda and Darren all the luck in the world as what happened to them was a total disgrace but by not pushing for a prison sentence that animal Nigel White is free to roam Partaloa and the surrounding area with his scrum friends and us good folk of Partaloa are just waiting for the next time and next person he does this to.

The fact of his age and that his daughter Tanya produced a grandchild a while ago is no good reason to stop him serving a long prison sentence for what he did.

Just wonder how you both will feel when he attacks another person very soon when he should be jail.

[twojaysalmeria]

I know nothing of this apart from what I've just read here. Just wanted to wish you well after what seems to have been a nightmare time for you and your family. I have a feeling that others would want to do the same but may be wary of doing so in case there are "repercusions".

Best of luck to you!

J

[lindablyth32]

I posted on here approximately 2 years ago after my husband was unprovacatively, viciously, attacked by a coward who bottled him in a bar in Partaloa and almost cost him his life, when the bottle smashed on his head and severed a main artery, in his neck, had that cut  been 1mm to the right he would have died instantly, thankfully with fast action from friends and the brilliant work done by the medics, stitches and a few blood transfusions, he is still alive.

Yesterday was the court case and the accused Nigel White, admitted he had intentionally assaulted Darren with the intent to harm, and apologized, receiving a 2 year suspended sentence and a small amount to pay in compensation, because it was a first, proven, offence here in Spain and he admitted guilt.

We could argue that justice hadn't been done because originally Nigel White, was charged with attempted murder and could have faced up to 10 years imprisonment, but because the legal system took so long to bring the case to trial, there was time for some obvious bullying or buying off, of the key eye witness to change their statement completely, which in turn lessened the prosecutions charge against Nigel from attempted murder to assault.

Following the assault we suffered severe intimidation and bullying from Nigel Whites friends, and the lives of ourselves, our 2 children and any friends that stuck by us, were completely destroyed and our lives were constantly being threatened, this went on for 18 months until one night one of Nigel Whites friends physically assaulted me, and we decided enough was enough, we packed up and left, they had finally got what they wanted.

All Darren ever really wanted after the attack, was an apology from Nigel White, for him to acknowledge that he had deliberately done what he had done and it wasn't some fictitious accident that he had originally tried to claim, and that he destroyed mine and Darrens and our 2 children's lives, (they watched their daddy nearly die, they suffered the stress of continuing to live in Partaloa, and in the end, they, who had been born in Spain, and knew no different, were forced to move to England, leaving their home, friends and school) something that in 2 years Nigel was obviously not man enough to do, but yesterday Darren did get his apology and last night for the first time in 2 years Darren slept without nightmares, so yes, Justice has been done.

Compensation was never an issue, it was never wanted, even though we had lost thousands of euros in investment in our original move to Partaloa and then thousands more in our move a way, there was months and months of work lost by Darren due to neck injury, depression and stress from the aftermath of the attack, likewise I lost a lot of time from work due to stress which eventaually ended with me getting pneumonia, so the few euros in compensation received were totally irrelevant but at least covered the costs of the solicitors we had employed and paid toward the trip back from England to attend the case.

We could have persude and pushed the case a lot further yesterday, to have secured a servable sentence for Nigel, 1 more day on his sentence and Nigel would be under lock and key now, but given Nigels age and the fact that he has just become a grandfather and was finally willing to admit guilt and apologies to Darren, letting Darren get on with his life, then it was the decent thing for us to do to give him the same opportunity, to get on with his.  Hopefully Nigel may now realize that the people around him who aided in the bullying and intimidation against us, some of whom we believe to have goaded Nigel originally to attack Darren, are not real friends of his at all, just very sad people who don't have enough going on in their own lives to be satisfied without interfering with other people's.

On that note there is still one last lose end for us to tie up in this situation and that is regarding the witness that changed their statement, Ian Barnes, at the original trial Nigel lied, claiming the injury to Darren had been incurred due to a fight that ended in a terrible accident, which was completely dismissed by forensic evidence and the signed testimony of the eye witness, Ian Barnes.  Nigel was confirmed to be lying yesterday when he admitted guilt, which under Spanish law he as the accused was well within his right to do, and he will not face any reprocussions for that.  However, a few months after Ian had made his original statement at the Guardia civil with a translator, and then re confirmed that exact same statement the next day in front of a judge with an official court translator, he went to a notary and changed his statement to match the story of Nigel, claiming confusion at the time of his original statement? Either way Ian had lied under oath on 1 or both of his statements, under Spanish law, pergeory by a witness is a very serious offence for which the courts will be Persuing a case against Ian.

Yesterday it was confirmed by Nigel admitting guilt, that it was in fact Ian's 2nd statement that was falsified, and seen as it was the changing of Ian's statement that changed the charges against Nigel, from attempted murder to assault, a very very serious perversion of Justice has occurred and Ian is likely to find himself in more trouble for changing his statement, than Nigel is for almost killing someone, Ian too, should chose his friends more carefully.

I would like to say a final thankyou to all the really lovely people we met while we were in Spain for their support, and now that this is behind us, we will be back to visit you soon. I would like to say a big fat adios, and hope, I never in my life again, to have to cross the path of the handful of horrible people, you know exactly who you are, in Partaloa that made the last few years so horrible for us.

Nigel's sad little friends are plastering all over Facebook that Nigel is a free man, that he has been cleared, proved innocent, of course he has not, because he is far from innocent, he has a suspended sentence hanging over his head. Darren has not been able to sleep more than 3 hours per night. He was always awake at 1-30 to 2 am every morning. Last night he woke again at this same time but fell back to sleep till 8-30am. 
Has Justice been done, well at least Darren can finally draw a line in a sad chapter in our lives and sleep again.