27 year old Irishman, Eric Wilson, charged with the murder of 24 year old Briton, Daniel J. Smith, in a pub in Mijas Costa last year has been sentenced to 23 years in prison.

27 year old Irishman, Eric Wilson, charged with the murder of 24 year old Briton, Daniel J. Smith, in a pub in Mijas Costa last year has been sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Tuesday’s sentence from the Málaga provincial court also orders him to pay 100,000 € compensation to the victim’s family and bans him from any contact with them for 35 years. The victim's mother, Karen, had been demanding 300,000 € compensation.

It happened on the terrace of a bar in the Riviera del Sol Urbanisation in Mijas Costa, and the prosecutor alleged that Daniel Smith returned to the scene with the intention of killing the Briton, taking out a nine mm pistol and firing twice as his victim was trying to get out of his chair. The Briton fell onto the floor and was shot again repeatedly at close range, according to the prosecutor whose view has been printed in the La Opinión de Málaga newspaper.

Daniel Smith suffered as many as 11 gunshots, two in the jaw, two in the back, one in the buttocks, three in the forearm, two in the scrotum and the last one in the thigh. He died shortly after as one of the shots had punctured his right lung.

The accused was arrested some days later in Coín, and although the gun was not found the Guardia Civil did find hand grenades and plastic explosives.

Daniel Smith had been wanted by Essex Police in connection with the attempted murder of Douglas Turner on July 7 2007 at Stock, near Chelmsford.