A BRITISH helicopter pilot is facing 20 years in a Spanish prison for stabbing a man to death during a drug-fuelled sex session – after claiming he feared being filmed and killed.
Aaron Rainbow, 50, is accused of knifing Oscar Tornero Rovira, 38, six times at the Spaniard’s rural apartment after a planned night of passion spiralled into horror.
linkedinAaron Rainbow, 50, is facing 20 years in a Spanish prison for stabbing a man to death during a drug-fuelled sex session[/caption]
LinkedInThe pilot is accused of knifing Oscar Tornero Rovira, 38, six times at the Spaniard’s rural apartment[/caption]
LinkedInAaron claimed he feared he was being filmed and would be killed[/caption]
The pilot has already spent nearly three years in custody as he awaits trial in Barcelona – with his family comparing the case to a “Netflix Thriller” and accusing Spanish police of botching the investigation.
They claim crucial electronic evidence has been ignored and destroyed – evidence they say could back up Rainbow’s claim that he acted in self-defence after becoming convinced he was “being watched by others and set up”.
Rainbow says “fight or flight” kicked in after a six-hour drug binge left him paranoid and terrified at the remote property in Vallgorguina, 30 minutes north of Barcelona, in February 2023.
Neighbours raised the alarm after hearing screams. Police arrived to find Rovira dead and Rainbow in a “confused state” – firing their guns in the air to subdue him.
He immediately confessed to the killing but insisted it was to protect his own life.
His family, speaking to the Daily Mail ahead of the trial, fear a miscarriage of justice.
They highlighted a Wi-Fi router in the house which was removed the day after the killing by a friend of the victim – and later returned with its internal components destroyed.
They claim this prevented any data recovery and that the subsequent data log provided to court was fake.
They say telecoms provider Orange has never supplied records of logged-on users, and that a phone app called iCSee found on Rovira’s phone has not been properly examined.
Rainbow’s brother, Dan, said: “After his arrest, Aaron said that he had been drugged, and he was aware of people watching online via cameras and he feared for his life.
“He wanted to get out of there because he had an uneasy feeling. He grabbed the knife in self-defense and that’s when he fatally stabbed the guy he was in the house with.
“It really is like something out of a Netflix show, but this is real life here.
“Aaron said what made him think people were watching is that Oscar started making hand signals to the camera and he thought ‘s*** – someone is watching, I need to get out of here sharpish’.
“The guy made a dash for the door, my brother thought he was letting people into the house, so he grabbed a knife, the fight has started and he’s then fatally stabbed him but we say he was put into a position of fear, and the fight or flight response just kicked in.”
Dan, from leafy Weybridge, Surrey, added: “The main focus is that they are not looking at some serious evidence and the standout is the router that was removed from the crime scene the day after the incident by a friend of the deceased.
“We believe people were connected to that router at the time, but it’s been professionally sabotaged, and the data cannot be extracted but the prosecution just don’t seem to be concerned.
“We think that at least two other people were in close proximity to the house and connected to that router the night all this happened, and it’s critical to Aaron’s legitimate defence case.
“We believe this was a secret sex studio and that Aaron was duped into going there, drugged, with the intention of whatever was going to happen being filmed and watched by people, with who knows what would happen at the end.
“My brother thinks he was the victim of a live show and says he heard heavy breathing from somewhere in the room that night via a camera and he really feared for his life.
“We just don’t trust the police because they say that nothing of relevance was found on the electronic devices, but we say they haven’t been properly examined, and my brother is facing a long time behind bars.
“We have our own IT experts sending documents to court saying the router was damaged, but no one is listening to us which makes us think they are protecting someone.
“We have reached the point of maximum frustration, and, quite frankly, it feels as if the justice system can do whatever it wants and that’s just not acceptable. We need to know why they are not actively going after this data.
“Surely the destruction of that router speaks volumes, and the prosecution and police should be saying we need to fully investigate why this has happened, but they are not interested.
“We say people were connected to that router, and it makes you wonder who it was. Are there police officers connected? People from the judiciary? It just doesn’t make sense why they are not interested.
“What is worrying us is that the court may put someone away without having a full picture of the evidence. This is real life here.”
Dan added: “I didn’t even know my brother was gay until all this happened. He’s in prison and his life has been taken away from him, he has a life to get back and career to get back to.
“He and the family are just waiting for the justice system to deliver and we hoped they would, but it’s clear now they have no intention of doing that. It makes us think was something going on at a higher level?
“If my brother didn’t do what he did how do we know he would have got out of there alive that night? There is more to this than meets the eye.
“Aaron is a kind and gentle human being who is a highly respected professional and has no history of any violent behaviour or criminal record.
“His actions on the night were initiated through extreme fear and in our opinion self-defense; however, the legal system has chosen not to fully investigate the truth.”
Rovira worked in a fashion store in Barcelona by day and as a male escort by night. He had known Rainbow for six years after meeting online.
The indictment alleges Rainbow “hired the victim for a night of sex and drugs” after flying into Barcelona that evening.
It says Rainbow launched an “unforeseen” attack while the victim was “in the tranquillity of his home and in the context of intimate relations that he was maintaining with the attacker”.
Prosecutor Felix Martin is demanding a 20-year sentence. He claims a cocktail of GHB, cocaine, methamphetamine, amphetamine and MDMA was taken before the stabbing.
According to the indictment: “During the meeting they installed a mattress in the living room of the house and arranged various sex toys, Viagra and narcotic substances.
“The party began at 9.45pm. At around 2.45am, the defendant went to the kitchen and took a knife, with which he stabbed the victim several times.
“Oscar tried to escape. He went to the door, went down the terrace stairs and tried to escape, but the outer door was locked, so the young man had to jump to the street from a height of three meters.
“He managed to walk a few steps but collapsed seconds later due to the severity of his injuries.”
Prosecutors say cameras in the house were switched off that night.
Rainbow’s lawyer, Pedro Javier Gomez Martinez, said: “Whether we are dealing with a drug-induced delirium or a real situation is something that only the destroyed router can clarify.
“But so far, nothing has been investigated despite multiple requests, and we suspect evidence has been destroyed and this evidence could prove his innocence in the case.”
AlamyThe killer immediately confessed to the killing in the Spanish apartment but insisted it was to protect his own life[/caption]