Murder of Jennifer Mills-Westley
Encyclopedia
The murder of Jennifer Mills-Westley occurred on Friday 13 May 2011 in Los Cristianos
, Tenerife
.
, England, who had retired to the Spanish island of Tenerife
in 2006. She owned two two-bedroom apartments on the Port Royale complex in Los Cristianos, one of which she rented to tourists.
her in a busy shop on Avenida Juan Carlos in the town centre. Officials said the man appeared to choose his victim at random before stabbing her in the neck fourteen times and then carrying her severed head out into the street.
The attack began at around 10:20 a.m. when the man suddenly started stabbing Mills-Westley without warning and with a large knife, possibly a ceremonial samurai sword
. He then cut off her head, and carried it out into the street while shouting: "This is my treasure," and "God is on earth." He then threw the head to the ground and was tackled by a security guard before police arrived.
Deyan Valentinov Deyanov. He was reported to have lived rough in a semi-derelict beach house and had a police record for violence towards strangers in the street. Three months prior to the attack on Mills-Westley, he had been released from a psychiatric unit at the Hospital de la Candelaria after a short stay following an unprovoked attack on a security guard who had been patrolling the seafront at Los Cristianos.
Two days prior to killing Mills-Westley, he was detained but released soon after by police for harassing women at a nightclub in nearby Playa de las Américas
.
Although officials were initially quoted as saying the attack was random, later reports in the British media suggested that Mills-Westley had sought help in a nearby office just before she was murdered, telling staff that she feared she was being followed by a man who was then told to go away by a security guard.
In the years prior to the attack in Los Cristianos, Deyanov was understood to have travelled between Edinburgh
and Bradford
in the UK, Cyprus
and Tenerife, and Flint
in north Wales where he had relatives. He had not returned to his family in Ruse, Bulgaria, since stealing family money and possessions to pay for addictions to heroin and gambling. In the summer of 2010 he spent some time in a psychiatric unit at Glan Clwyd hospital
in Bodelwyddan
, northeast Wales.
He is now being held at a psychiatric unit in Tenerife and is charged with murder.
Los Cristianos
Los Cristianos is a town in Spain with a population of approximately 19,000 , situated on the south coast of the Canary Island of Tenerife. Located in the municipality of Arona between the cone of the mountain Chayofita and the greater mountain Guaza. The town centre is around the Los Cristianos...
, Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
.
Background
Mills-Westley was a 60-year-old grandmother of five from NorwichNorwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, England, who had retired to the Spanish island of Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
in 2006. She owned two two-bedroom apartments on the Port Royale complex in Los Cristianos, one of which she rented to tourists.
Murder
Mills-Westley's murder was widely publicised in the British and international media due to its horrific nature, in which a homeless man stabbed and beheadedDecapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
her in a busy shop on Avenida Juan Carlos in the town centre. Officials said the man appeared to choose his victim at random before stabbing her in the neck fourteen times and then carrying her severed head out into the street.
The attack began at around 10:20 a.m. when the man suddenly started stabbing Mills-Westley without warning and with a large knife, possibly a ceremonial samurai sword
Katana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
. He then cut off her head, and carried it out into the street while shouting: "This is my treasure," and "God is on earth." He then threw the head to the ground and was tackled by a security guard before police arrived.
Suspect
Police later named the suspect as 28-year-old unemployed BulgarianBulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
Deyan Valentinov Deyanov. He was reported to have lived rough in a semi-derelict beach house and had a police record for violence towards strangers in the street. Three months prior to the attack on Mills-Westley, he had been released from a psychiatric unit at the Hospital de la Candelaria after a short stay following an unprovoked attack on a security guard who had been patrolling the seafront at Los Cristianos.
Two days prior to killing Mills-Westley, he was detained but released soon after by police for harassing women at a nightclub in nearby Playa de las Américas
Playa de las Américas
Playa de las Américas is a purpose-built holiday resort in the northern part of the Municipality of Arona, close to the adjoining Municipality of Adeje in the south of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. It was built in the 1960s beside the town of Los Cristianos and stretching northward to the...
.
Although officials were initially quoted as saying the attack was random, later reports in the British media suggested that Mills-Westley had sought help in a nearby office just before she was murdered, telling staff that she feared she was being followed by a man who was then told to go away by a security guard.
In the years prior to the attack in Los Cristianos, Deyanov was understood to have travelled between Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
in the UK, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and Tenerife, and Flint
Flint, Flintshire
Flint is a town in Flintshire, North Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Dee. It was the county town of the historic county of Flintshire and today is the third largest town in Flintshire. According to the 2001 Census the population of the community of Flint was 12,804...
in north Wales where he had relatives. He had not returned to his family in Ruse, Bulgaria, since stealing family money and possessions to pay for addictions to heroin and gambling. In the summer of 2010 he spent some time in a psychiatric unit at Glan Clwyd hospital
Conwy & Denbighshire NHS Trust
Conwy & Denbighshire NHS Trust was an NHS Trust in Wales. The headquarters of the Trust were in Glan Clwyd Hospital, in Bodelwyddan, near Rhyl, Denbighshire...
in Bodelwyddan
Bodelwyddan
Bodelwyddan is a village and community in Denbighshire, Wales now bypassed by the A55 road. It has a population of 2,106. The village lies east of Abergele, south of Rhyl, and north west of Ruthin....
, northeast Wales.
He is now being held at a psychiatric unit in Tenerife and is charged with murder.