Politics
Brit, 24, found dead in Ibiza sea was ‘struck over head with bottle’ as family say: ‘We have so many questions’
THE family of a tragic British tourist who died in Ibiza may never know exactly how he died.
Anwaar Lahrichi-Greenwood, then 24, was found dead in the sea on the last day of a lads’ holiday in San Antonio in 2018 after being struck repeatedly over the head with a glass bottle, an inquest heard yesterday.
Anwaar died during a holiday to Ibiza in 2018[/caption]
He was found wearing just his socks two days after he went missing.
Spanish police ruled the death as misadventure but his family accused cops of “failing to investigate” and failing to secure vital evidence, including CCTV footage.
The family carried out their own investigations and discovered he was attacked at around 5am on the town’s promenade and even offered £5,000 for witnesses to come forward with information.
The court heard witnesses describe seeing Londoner Lahrichi-Greenwood being hit at least twice with a bottle after a night out, before refusing treatment from paramedics and leaving the scene.
Witnesses say they say the London get attacked with a bottle[/caption]
Anwaar’s family flew to Ibiza to carry out their own investigations[/caption]
Tyler Jules-Nelson, from Manchester, said in a police statement taken in April 2021: “We saw Anwaar walk to three men and began chatting to them, we later found out they were not English.
“They were chatting, I’m not sure what triggered it but one of the Spanish men picked up a bottle and began striking him over the head, on the third strike it broke.”
Speaking yesterday solicitor for the family Jude Lanchin said: “There was a 36 hour gap between when he was last seen at approximately 5am on Saturday and he wasn’t found until Sunday morning at around 7am. That is obviously a really significant number of hours.
“As we understood from the police investigation in Spain, not all CCTV was checked, this was part of the problem and why the family had to step in from early days.
“They put up posters, leafletted in an attempt to see if anyone would come forward to try and plug that very long gap of where he had gone, had he got into another altercation?”
The lack of “crucial evidence” showing how or when Mr Lahrichi-Greenwood entered the sea led the coroner to record an open verdict.
Anwaar’s family say they are relieved by the verdict[/caption]
Coroner Simon Walker said: “In these circumstances we simply don’t know, there is no evidence to suggest how he entered the water or when he did so, there is evidence that those who received blows to the head and may find themselves concussed entered the water would have been at a higher risk of drowning.
“Having said that there is no evidence to suggest how he entered the water or when he did so.
“The only conclusion in this case can be an open conclusion.”
Speaking to The Sun after the inquest, Anwaar’s cousin Syan Angol said: “This has been the hardest three years of my life.
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“For me and my family it is a relief that we’ve got to this point after nearly three years of an ongoing battle, going back and forth to Ibiza, trying to get some sort of justice.
“We feel the open verdict is the right one, because there are questions remaining over what happened to him, but finally we have closure.
“We want to honour Anwaar and his story, and we hope no other families have to go through this kind of tragedy.”
