Major criminal trials over a fatal listeriosis outbreak, military drownings and high-profile killings will open across courts in Andalusia during late 2026. The judicial calendar for the final months of the year includes hearings on public safety disasters, fatal shootings, corruption inquiries and violent homicides across the southern Spanish region.
The trial over Spain's 2019 listeriosis outbreak will open on October 16 at the Provincial Court of Seville. The outbreak, caused by contaminated larded pork distributed by the company Magrudis, resulted in four deaths and left hundreds of people affected. Members of the family managing the firm face prosecutor requests of between 10 and 11.5 years in prison, alongside an investigated municipal veterinarian and a technical architect. A private prosecution representing victims is seeking 12 years in prison for de facto administrator Jose Antonio Marin Ponce and 10 years and one day for the veterinarian.
On October 26, the Courtroom of Justice of the Central Military Tribunal in Madrid will begin hearing the case into the December 2023 drowning deaths of soldier Carlos Leon Rico and corporal Miguel Angel Jimenez Andujar. The two servicemen died in an artificial lake at the Cerro Muriano military base in Cordoba province. Private prosecutions representing the victims' families have requested prison sentences between nine and ten years for four accused military personnel, alongside their expulsion from the armed forces, court costs, and compensation ranging between 250,000 and 500,000 euros, with the Spanish State named as civilly liable. Prosecutors have requested eight years in prison for Captain Zuniga and five years for Lieutenant Tato.
Cadiz Bus Crash and Huelva Shooting
The Provincial Court of Cadiz will hear a case on September 22 stemming from a fatal vehicle crash on October 9, 2023 in the provincial capital. A bus mounted the sidewalk on the access avenue to the Constitution of 1812 bridge at the entrance to Cadiz, striking several pedestrians. The incident left four people dead and several others injured. Prosecutors are seeking five-year prison sentences for both the bus driver and the transport businessman on four counts of gross reckless homicide, together with victim compensation exceeding 500,000 euros.
In Huelva, the Provincial Court will open a trial on October 16 against a man known as El Baba over a fatal shooting in the El Torrejon neighborhood on September 10, 2024. The killing left one person dead in the district. Authorities noted the proceedings coincide with inquiries into an August 16 shooting that killed a 39-year-old woman who was eight months pregnant, her unborn baby, her mother, and an unrelated 16-year-old minor. The deceased women were the mother and sister of the man accused in the 2024 El Torrejon shooting.
Granada Kidnapping and Local Corruption Hearings
The Provincial Court of Granada is scheduled to begin a trial on November 16 against a man accused of kidnapping former Maracena socialist councillor Vanessa Romero in February 2023. The defendant allegedly entered her vehicle, threatened her with an imitation firearm, bound her hands and feet, and forced her into the car boot. At the time of the incident, the confessed kidnapper was the partner of then acting mayor Berta Linares, who later resigned her post and councillor seat following months of media attention. Prosecutors are seeking an eight-year prison term for charges of illegal detention, minor injury, and psychological injury.
Granada courts will also examine financial and hate crime proceedings in September and October. The Provincial Court of Granada will hear a separate branch of the Marchelo case concerning alleged planning and construction irregularities for a petrol station in Alhedin. Prosecutors have requested 18-year prison terms for three former councillors and a municipal technician, alongside a 21-month sentence for an involved businessman. Separately, the court's Second Section has set an October preliminary hearing for retired judge Manuel Pinar over alleged hate speech targeting migrants and ethnic minorities on Facebook. Private prosecutors seek an 18-month prison sentence and a 6,600 euro fine against the former magistrate.
Further Homicide and Manslaughter Trials
In Jaen, a trial opening September 21 will try an individual accused of murdering a 74-year-old woman during a May 2024 burglary in Sabiote, with prosecutors seeking reviewable permanent prison. On September 18, a jury trial in Seville will address the September 2019 death of 19-year-old Ana Buza while travelling with her boyfriend along the A-4 motorway in Carmona. Her family is seeking a 20-year prison sentence, while prosecutors have requested three years. Meanwhile, the Provincial Court of Almeria will open a trial on October 22 against a man accused of beating to death 53-year-old El Ejido municipal official and Virgitano historian Antonio Campos, where prosecutors seek a 22-year sentence.
Major Disasters and Ongoing Inquiries
Judicial investigations are also advancing on major disasters across Andalusia. The Civil and Instruction Court of Montoro is awaiting laboratory analysis of rail segments from the January 18 train derailment in Adamuz, which killed 46 people and injured 120 others. In Vera, Courtroom Number 3 of the Civil and Instruction Section is investigating a July 9 wildfire in Los Gallardos, Almeria, which claimed 14 lives. The court has so far granted private prosecution status to relatives of eight victims.
Other ongoing investigations in Almeria include the December 2025 murder of four-year-old Lucas in Garrucha, allegedly involving his mother and her boyfriend, and the fatal shooting of a member of the Los Lateros clan at his home in Puente del Rio, Adra, allegedly by a man known as Saul el viejo. In Malaga, courts await developments in the murder of a 25-year-old woman in Campillos, whose ex-partner surrendered at a Civil Guard station in Martos, as well as the November 22, 2025 domestic murder of a 60-year-old woman in Rincon de la Victoria. Meanwhile, Spain's Supreme Court is expected to deliver its ruling on the Alhambra audio guide case in Granada, regarding alleged irregularities in rental contracts at the historic monument.
