Homicide and Murder Lawyer in Madrid
If you have been arrested for a violent death or accused of homicide or murder, what is decided in the first few days shapes the entire case. Do not give a statement without a lawyer by your side. We will take your call ourselves, at any hour. 24-hour direct line: 681 256 507.
Homicide and murder lawyer in Madrid, available 24 hours
An accusation of homicide or murder is one of the most serious situations a person can face, and the defense is decided during the investigation stage, not at trial. We are criminal defense lawyers in Madrid and we handle proceedings for intentional homicide, murder and negligent homicide before the Provincial Court of Madrid and, where there is a national connection, before the National Court. We also act as private prosecution counsel for victims’ families. We handle your case ourselves, from start to finish.
Crimes against life we handle in Madrid
These are the three fronts on which we act in a crime against life case.
Defense when you are accused of causing another person’s death and the classification ranges between homicide, murder or aggravated murder. The intent to kill and the circumstances of the act determine the boundary.
Negligent homicide
Homicide through gross or lesser negligence: traffic accidents resulting in death, professional healthcare negligence and other cases in which the death was not intended, but was avoidable.
Private prosecution for the family
We represent the victim’s family in exercising a private prosecution when the engagement allows it. We never take on both the accused and the victim in the same case.
What we do if you are arrested for homicide or murder
If you are arrested over a violent death, what you do in the first few hours affects the entire case. This is what we do with you from the moment you call:
We answer the phone.
We identify the police station, the reason for the arrest and the procedural situation, and we activate the defense at that moment.
We give you the first instructions.
You have the right to remain silent and not to sign anything until you have spoken with your lawyer. We explain this to you before any proceedings.
We go to the police station in person.
A partner travels to the police station or the on-duty court, in Madrid city or the Henares Corridor.
We speak with you privately.
In the private interview, before you give a statement, we prepare with you your position before the investigating judge and the first court appearance.
We assist you during questioning.
Before the Judicial Police and in court, and we request alternatives to pre-trial detention when appropriate.
We provide this assistance ourselves, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Madrid city, the Henares Corridor and all of Spain.
Lawyer before the Jury Court in Madrid
Most cases of homicide and murder are tried before the Jury Court, which works very differently from an ordinary trial: nine citizens with no legal training decide the facts and a judge applies the law. That changes the whole strategy:
- A narrative built for the jury. Before a body that decides on the facts, you need clarity, a solid narrative and a style of questioning tailored to them.
- Trial preparation. We work on the object of the verdict, the order of evidence and the closing argument with that focus in mind.
- The specific remedies available. Appeal before the High Court of Justice of Madrid and cassation appeal before the Supreme Court.
How we argue the line between homicide and murder
The difference between homicide and murder is not one of degree: it is one of legal classification, and it determines years in prison. Homicide is causing the death of another person; for it to be classed as murder, at least one of these four circumstances must be present:
- Treachery (alevosía).
- Payment or reward.
- Cruelty (ensañamiento).
- Committing it to facilitate or conceal another offence.
Proving or ruling out these circumstances is the core of the defense, because reducing a murder charge to homicide radically changes the sentence. The same applies to the line between intent (dolo) and gross negligence.
Reckless homicide lawyer in Madrid
Not every death amounts to intentional homicide. Homicide through gross negligence carries a sentence of one to four years’ imprisonment, while homicide through lesser negligence is punished with a fine, with an added disqualification when professional negligence is involved. It is a very specific field:
- Where it arises. Fatal traffic accidents, workplace accidents and medical liability.
- Where cases are won. In the expert evidence: accident reconstruction, protocols, causal link and the degree of negligence.
- What is at stake. The boundary between gross negligence, lesser negligence or the absence of criminal negligence determines the outcome.
Sentences for homicide and murder
The severity of the penalties makes every procedural decision irreversible:
- Intentional homicide: anyone who kills another person is liable, as guilty of homicide, to a prison sentence of ten to fifteen years, in its upper half where aggravating circumstances are present.
- Murder: from fifteen to twenty-five years where there is treachery, price or reward, cruelty, or the purpose of facilitating or concealing another offence.
- Aggravated murder: reviewable life imprisonment, for example where the victim is under sixteen years of age, where it follows an offence against sexual freedom, or where two or more circumstances coincide.
- Homicide by gross negligence: from one to four years, with disqualification in cases of professional negligence.
- Inducing and assisting suicide, subject to the specific regime governing euthanasia.
In addition to the sentence, there may be disqualifications, a restraining order in relation to the victim’s family, supervised release, civil liability and costs.
Defense in homicide and murder cases throughout the Community of Madrid
Most homicide and murder cases in Madrid are investigated by the Examining Courts of Plaza de Castilla and tried before the Provincial Court of Madrid, sitting as the Jury Court. We also handle proceedings in the judicial districts of the Henares Corridor (Alcalá de Henares, Arganda del Rey, Coslada) and, where international connections are involved, before the National Court. Appeals are heard by the High Court of Justice of Madrid. Our office at Goya 20 is a short walk from the main judicial bodies in the city centre.
Privately instructed criminal defense lawyer instead of a court-appointed one
In a homicide or murder case, court-appointed legal aid covers the formal proceedings, but it rarely prepares the expert evidence with the time that a case of this gravity requires. Choosing your own privately instructed lawyer means that the same firm that studies your file is the one that answers your calls, explains each step to you, and attends the jury trial with you. No paralegal in between and no different lawyer every day: we handle your case ourselves, from start to finish.
How we handle a homicide or murder case
From the first call after an arrest to the final judgment of the Jury Court or the appeal before the High Court of Justice, we work every case with the same method. We apply it equally to intentional homicide and to homicide by negligence.
First contact
We attend to you directly, by phone or in person, even outside office hours. We identify the procedural situation and activate the defense. The position on pre-trial detention is built within hours.
Case analysis
We review the police report, the autopsy, the forensic and ballistic reports, the expert evidence, the witness testimony and the electronic evidence. Where the case warrants it, we bring in our own expert witnesses before the indictment order is issued.
Strategy and preparation
We design the case theory and the defence brief: we assess self-defence, the exempting and mitigating circumstances (sudden impulse, obfuscation, redress of the harm or drug dependency), possible attempt, and the circumstances that separate homicide from murder, together with the defence evidence and the order of examination adapted to the lay jury. We prepare every milestone with you.
Courtroom defence before the jury
We defend you at trial before the Jury Court constituted at the Provincial Court of Madrid, and we appeal before the High Court of Justice and file cassation appeals before the Supreme Court where appropriate.
Frequently asked questions about homicide and murder in Madrid
Is the Jury Court always competent for homicide?
As a rule, intentional homicide and murder, including hyper-aggravated murder, are tried before the Jury Court. The exception is where a connection with other offences not attributed to the jury alters jurisdiction. We review this in your case at the first consultation.
What is the technical difference between homicide and murder?
The presence of one of these circumstances: treachery (alevosía), price or reward, cruelty, or committing the act to facilitate or conceal another offence. If none is present, the facts amount to homicide, carrying a significantly lower penalty. That is why proving or excluding these circumstances is the core of the defence.
Can pre-trial detention be ordered automatically?
It is not automatic, but the seriousness of the offence and the penalty in the abstract are strong indicators for ordering it at the first hearing. The defence must challenge the legal requirements for pre-trial detention, argue for alternative measures, and raise the personal circumstances that support a less onerous measure.
Can you represent the victim's family instead of the person under investigation?
Yes, we take on representation of the injured parties through a private prosecution when the engagement allows it. The proceedings are always kept separate: we never represent both the person under investigation and the victim in the same case.
How long does a homicide or murder case take?
The investigation stage usually lasts between six and eighteen months. The trial before the Jury Court, with its preparatory proceedings, adds several more months, and subsequent appeals before the High Court of Justice and the Supreme Court further extend the case. We confirm the estimated timeframes for you at the first consultation.
Our office at Goya 20, Madrid
Estudio Jurídico Cervantes & Gª-Escribano
Book an initial assessment or call us directly. We meet clients at Goya 20, by phone, and by video call, with the confidentiality inherent in professional practice.
- Calle Goya 20, 1st Floor Left · 28001 Madrid
- 681 256 507 · 24 hours, every day
- [email protected]
- Monday to Friday · 9:00 – 19:00 (detainee assistance 24/7)
Call a homicide and murder lawyer in Madrid
A homicide or murder charge is won or lost in the first moves: the initial statement, the expert evidence requested and the preparation of the case that will go before the jury. The sooner you call us, the more room we have to act. We assist you directly, in Madrid and throughout Spain. Call us on 681 256 507.
