 THE mother of a 32-year-old Valladolid man accused of murdering his father and sister says her son spent years locked up in the family home in order to protect his mother from her husband's violence.
She says Ismael V.S. saw his father attempting to strangle his mother over Christmas after coming home drunk, and hit him over the head with a baseball bat.
“I've never been afraid of my son, only of my husband,” reveals his mother.
The widow describes how her 34-year marriage was blighted with daily violence.
Her husband, an alcoholic, beat her and smashed up the house almost every day during that time.
She says Ismael suffered from psychatric illnesses, including agoraphobia.
According to the widow, her son did not leave the house for days at a time, nor answer the telephone.
She says he remained locked in his bedroom and even went to the toilet in a bottle rather than venturing out to the bathroom.
Ismael surprised his defence lawyer yesterday when he exercised his right not to testify, despite his representative's advice to the contrary. |
