False murder charge tore our lives apart

A GRANDDAD who spent nearly four years fighting the Spanish justice system after being wrongly accused of murder is launching a six-figure bid for compensation.

Stephen Johnson told The Sunday Post how his life has been “torn apart” despite being cleared of murdering a Moroccan man in the sunshine resort of Playa de Las Americas, Tenerife.

He spent three and a half years awaiting trial until a jury unanimously cleared him of murder.

Red tape prevented him getting his passport back for another three weeks after being cleared heaping more misery on him and his family back home.

Now, he has demanded justice by instructing his lawyer, Fernando Mesa, to launch a bid for a “substantial” compensation payout from the Spanish authorities.

Speaking from his home in Hetton-le-Hole, Sunderland, Stephen said: “It was a horrendous nightmare.

“It took me nearly four years to get to court and my life has been ruined.

“I deserve this because of what I have been put through by the Spanish justice system.”

The father-of-three’s ordeal started when he intervened in a vicious fight in January, 2008.

He had been drinking in a bar when an argument broke out between two Moroccans and a Brit.

After being kicked out of the bar, the Moroccans launched an attack on the British man outside, Stephen said.

The Wearsider went to intervene as a “good Samaritan” as the Briton lay on the floor after being hit by one of the other men.

Stephen, 58, said: “I was hit over the head with some heavy object and fell to the floor myself.

“The two Moroccans went off.

“The police came and I thought they were going to help, but they just arrested me, chucked me in the car and put me in a filthy, dirty cell for hours.”

Stephen, who was on holiday with his wife, Joan, said he didn’t realise one of the Moroccans, 31-year-old Ahmed Addy had later died of a stab wound.

Police never traced the other Moroccan.

Stephen said he believed the man had left the island shortly before he was charged with murder.

He added: “When I was first charged I was sick, I didn’t know whether I was going to faint.

“I was a mess because it was such a shock.

“I didn’t know what was happening and I was suicidal.”

It wasn’t until July, 2011, that he eventually faced a murder trial jury, alongside fellow defendant, Liverpool entertainer Bryan O’Connell.

During the four-day case in Santa Cruz the nine-man jury heard evidence that the second Moroccan had been seen carrying a broken bottle.

A string of witnesses, including a Spanish man called by the prosecution, backed Stephen’s not guilty plea.

He was eventually fined €1,100 despite denying any part in the brawl.

Afterwards, his lawyer, Mr Mesa, described the prosecution as “flimsy and ludicrous” and said the case should have never even reached court.

An appeal to the country’s Supreme Court also failed when three high court judges sitting in Gran Canaria slammed the original decision to prosecute and overturned Stephen’s fine.

He was eventually given back his possessions, including a £1,000 gold watch, and his €12,000 bail money.

But his business, Stephy’s Coaches, was beginning to fail, despite the best efforts of his family.

Council worker Joan, 57, took over the running of the company while two of their grown-up children ditched their jobs and became coach drivers.

His daughter, Michelle, now 30, who was studying criminology at Sunderland University, suffered a nervous breakdown because of the stress, said Stephen.

His business of 30 years eventually failed in November last year.

Stephen also missed the birth and christening of first grandchild, Lilly-Mai, as well as family weddings and funerals while he was stranded on the holiday isle.

His compensation bid has been boosted by the news that a German resident in Tenerife, who was wrongly accused of killing his mother, was awarded €130,000.

He was cleared of murder after it was discovered his mum died when she choked on her false teeth. The case took two years to get to court.

Stephen said: “Being cleared of murder charges hasn’t resulted in my life returning to normal.

“All this happened because, as a good Samaritan, I went to the aid of a young man who was being severely beaten.”