Blood found on co-accused’s licence plates could lead to ‘dramatic shift’ in investigation
We can reveal lawyers acting for the 27-year-old Newtownabbey man, who has been in Spanish custody for six months now without charge, were able to question Maly last week about what he knew about the circumstances surrounding the murder of Mr George.
And we can also reveal that Spanish cops investigating the murder have made a dramatic breakthrough by accessing previously locked mobile phones.
Czech national Maly was arrested earlier this year and appeared in court as a murder suspect but the 32-year-old was released on bail and has yet to be charged with any offence. It is believed he has denied all involvement in the murder.
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Smyth pictured with murder victim John George
Smyth (27) was eventually arrested in Portugal having gone on the run before being extradited back to Spain where he has also been named as a suspect and held on remand in prison – but like Maly has not yet been charged with any offence. He has also denied being involved in Mr George’s murder.
Mr George, a father of two who was facing drug charges back home and who was struggling with addiction, was shot dead and his body was left in a rural area around December 14, although his body wasn’t discovered for several weeks.
During a special hearing last week at Torrevieja courthouse it emerged that a report into blood samples discovered on “license plates inside the vehicle” belonging to Czech national Maly had yet to be returned to the court despite samples being sent for tests back in January.
John George
It’s not known if those blood stains belong to 29-year-old murder victim Mr George or not but Smyth’s lawyers are pushing for the forensics report to be sent to the court immediately and have even filed a motion compelling the forensic report to be sent to the court.
His lawyer Francisco Botella has said in his motion to the court that they are formally requesting that a reminder is sent to the laboratory dealing with the samples.
He says, in that motion, if the blood samples turn out to belong to John George it could “constitute a dramatic shift” in the investigation and it’s understood should that be the case it could be hugely beneficial to his client Jonny Smyth.
And the Sunday World can also reveal Spanish police were able to access three phones belonging to Maly which, until now, had been locked – with Maly claiming he couldn’t remember the passcodes necessary for opening them.
Czech national Michal Maly
“Michal Maly had three phones seized when his house was raided by police during his arrest,” said a source.
“But he has always said he couldn’t remember the PIN numbers to access them. But that changed in court last week when he was being questioned by Jonny Smyth’s solicitor.
“When it was said that the phones in question were iPhones it was made clear that those phones have facial recognition and from that the phones were held up to Michal Maly’s face with his agreement and the phones can now be accessed.”
But the team supporting Smyth are becoming increasingly frustrated that he remains in jail without charge six months after his arrest while Maly is on bail.
Jonny Smyth
They are pushing for Smyth to either be charged or released on bail and believe the fact blood was found on number plates found inside Maly’s car could prove to be decisive in getting him released.
The motion filed by his legal team states: “The Civil Guard Report (Annex IV) includes a Forensic Laboratory report no. 2025-105301-03, in which, following the discovery of bloodstains on the license plates found inside the vehicle 0241 MWZ, the samples were sent to the SECRIM Biology Department ‘for DNA profiling and comparison with the known DNA of the victim John Joseph Hardy.’
“If it is confirmed that the blood found on the license plates belongs to the victim, it would constitute a drastic shift in the procedural situation as it currently stands, since up until now, the incoherent version of events provided by the suspect Mr Michal Maly has been accepted, even though his procedural conduct (yesterday he refused to testify) appears incompatible with the innocence he claims, as he who has nothing to hide should have nothing to fear.
Jonny Smyth who is currently being held in Spain in connection with the John George murder
“Given the importance of the aforementioned report, and considering that no less than six months have passed since the samples were sent to the Laboratory, we hereby request: That a formal reminder be issued to the Biology Department – SECRIM, urging them to immediately send to the court the DNA comparison report mentioned above, and, once received, that it be urgently forwarded to this party.”
Maly appeared at a court in Torrevieja in Spain, before an investigating judge, in a behind-closed-doors hearing in January.
As part of his bail conditions, he had to surrender his passport. He isn’t allowed to leave the jurisdiction and must report daily to police.
Jonny Smyth and Madison Allen
Former gym owner Smyth fled his apartment in Spain during the police investigation and he and his then partner Madison Allen rented a property in Portugal until John’s campaigning father Billy George tracked them down and he was arrested and returned to Spain.
After being brought back to Spain, Smyth was initially held in a remand prison near the border town of Badajoz in Spain’s south-west Extremadura region after being driven across the frontier by armed cops.
Madison Smyth, wife of Jonny Smyth who is in jail in Spain in connection with the murder of John George
Madison Allen
In June it emerged Madison had got married to Smyth in a secret wedding in Gibraltar.
The couple sneaked off to a private ceremony in Gibraltar while Spanish cops were on the hunt for Smyth.
Madison, from north Belfast, told the Sunday World she had wanted to keep their marriage private so as not to upset anyone but that someone had got wind of it and so she wanted to “let the world know”.
Madison told the Sunday World the couple are entitled to conjugal visits which last three hours.