A 47-year old expert in Martial Arts strangled an expat British pensioner (71) to death in Spain over unpaid gardening wages. The victim was jailed for twelve years

  • Fransisco Javier Belcerra strangled Lesley Anne Pearson in her house in 2019,
  • A 47-year old handyman placed the 74 year-old in a shallow, quicklime-filled grave.
  • He confessed to Ms Person’s murder and will spend 12 years prison time as a consequence










For 12 years, a man was sentenced to jail for murdering a British pensioner and then burying her in Spain in a shallow burial. 

Fransisco Javier Belcerra admitted to killing Lesley Anne Pearson at the age of 74 and placing her body in quicklime, her Algar home in Cadiz, in July 2019. 

After a dispute over money, the 47-year old handyman was also an expert on martial arts and killed the pensioner. 

Lesley Anne Pearson, pictured with her brother Stephen Ramsbottom, right, was strangled at her home in Algar, Cadiz in July 2019. Handyman Fransisco Javier Becerra admitted her homicide and burying her body in a shallow grave at her property

Lesley Anne Pearson (right) was murdered at her Algar home, Cadiz, July 2019 by her brother Stephen Ramsbottom. Handyman Fransisco Javier Becerra admitted her homicide and burying her body in a shallow grave at her property 

Ms Pearson's body was found ten days after she was reported missing. Becerra admitted Ms Pearson's homicide and will serve 12 years in prison

Ten days after Ms Pearson was reported missing, her body was discovered. Becerra has admitted to the murder of Ms Pearson and will be serving 12 years imprisonment

Becerra had been convicted in homicide and sentenced to a fifteen-year term by the authorities. Three years was reduced as a result of Becerra’s guilty plea. 

The Mirror spoke with Brother Stephen Ramsbottom: “It’s not like England. He doesn’t get any reduction.”

“The sentence is likely to be short, but if the man was given 20 years of English service, it would not only make sense that he should serve 10, It’s not worth getting angry about. This is the decision. It must be accepted. Javier is my only friend.

Ramsbottom stated that Mr Ramsbottom was currently in Jail for the Next 12 Years. It is my belief that life in Spain’s jails will be harder than it would in the UK.

Algar is one the white villages of Cadiz.

Two of the best natural parks in the region, Alcornocales & Grazalema, flank it. 

The population is approximately 1500.

Arcos de la Frontera is the nearest town. Cadiz, the provincial capital is about an hour drive from Arcos de la Frontera.

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