Giovanny Barrios, 44, appeared before the popular jury this Tuesday as a person who was not well when he killed José Sotomayor. “He was a junkie, he was hooked on drugs,” he explained in the second session of the trial in which he faces a sentence of 26 years in prison for murdering in cold blood the owner of the People Lounge Bar, a popular place. by older men, located on Villarroel street with Diputació de Barcelona, ??in the heart of Gayxample. The accused, a Colombian national, has tried to show his best side, seeking the jury’s compassion and stating that he killed José to repel an attack and acted in legitimate defense. “I felt like he was going to kill me. I felt like it was him or me. I never wanted to do this. He was crazy, he was crazy. It wasn’t me, he was someone else,” he implored. The deceased was 66 years old and died due to the severity of the blows he received from the accused.
On October 28, 2021, Giovanny appeared for a job interview to be the venue’s goalkeeper. During the talk, they had drinks, a lot of alcohol and went to the home of the owner of the establishment to have sexual relations, who was also in Eixample. Between 12 and 2:54 a.m. the crime occurred. Giovanny brutally attacked José “with various instruments and in different ways that he found in the house” and beat him non-stop until he killed him. “The victim had no possibility of effective defense as she was completely naked, defenseless and surprised by the unexpectedness of the attack and because she was affected by alcohol consumption which seriously affected her ability to respond,” says the prosecutor. Afterwards, the accused stole his wallet, several perfumes and an iPod. The Mossos, alerted by the victim’s husband, found the accused in the doorway of the building, with the objects he had stolen as well as blood-stained clothes.
The accused, for his part, admits the facts but assures that that night he was having drinks at the premises, that he took a lot of drugs and that the victim, seeing him in need, offered him money in exchange for having sexual relations. “He was a junkie and Jose started giving me drinks and then he told me that if he wanted more money that I should accompany him to his apartment so we could have sex.” According to his version, he suggested she have a threesome with another person and perform sadomasochistic practices. At this moment, according to what the accused has said, he was feeling very bad and he told the deceased to call an ambulance, and he refused, he put drugs in his drink because he wanted to have sexual relations and when the accused refused, the victim told him. attacked. This is the explanation with which he tries to justify the number of blows he inflicted on the victim. In the same session, the victim’s husband stated that he had assured that his partner never took drugs. His friends and neighbors have said the same thing. The crime shocked Barcelona’s gay community. The establishment that was very well known in Gayxample, closed after the crime.
