A 28-year-old cruise liner in the UK was killed in a “frantic” attack by her ex-boyfriend, who was furious when he saw her at a Tinder meeting with another man, prosecutors claim in a report.
Abandoned lover Abdelaziz El Yechioui Ourzat, 30, was filmed in September 2019 “hidden in the shadows” outside the Giddy Bridge pub in Southampton, where Cristina Ortiz-Lozano had gone with the man she met on the dating app, reported the UK Metro.
Ourzat then followed the couple when they returned to her home, where he allegedly stabbed her 23 times with a kitchen knife, a Winchester Crown Court jury was informed on Wednesday.
Prosecutor Kerry Maylin said Ourzat “a jealous ex-boyfriend in a tantrum who attacked her frantically, simply because she had gone out with a man, not Mr. Ourzat, on the night of the crime”.
Ortiz-Lozano and Ourzat met at a school in Spain and had been together for about 12 years before she left him when he was arrested for drunk driving in August 2019, according to Metro.
She “could no longer deal with his volatility and drunkenness,” said Maylin, but when she told Ourzat to leave, he made a fuss over the house they shared, tearing light fixtures and radiators off the walls.
Ourzat was charged with criminal damages and then allegedly breached his bail by sending his abusive former emails.
After the volatile separation, Ortiz-Lozano met Vincente Breso-Biosca on Tinder and left for the fateful meeting, during which Ourzat bought some flowers and took them home before returning to the pub.
When Ortiz-Lozano caught sight of Ourzat, she told her boyfriend about her “abusive” ex and asked if they could leave because he was not allowed to go near her due to bail conditions, Maylin told the jury.
“Sir. Ourzat clearly followed them. He is seen on CCTV following them on the opposite side of the street and he wanders or stands at intersections,” she said.
After Ourzat followed Ortiz-Lozano into his home, Breso-Biosca heard shouting and entered.
“He saw Miss. Ortiz-Lozano already lying on his back on the kitchen floor, with Mr. Ourzat crouched over her with a knife in one hand and the other in her throat, ”said Maylin.
“She had her eyes open, but he believed she was already dead, she was not moving,” he added. “He described Mr. Ourzat turning to him, closing the door and continuing his attack on Cristina Ortiz-Lozano.”
Ortiz-Lozano suffered knife wounds to his chest, neck and abdomen and had defensive wounds on his arms, “where she raised her arms in front of her body in an attempt to protect her torso and neck,” the jury was informed.
Ourzat, who claimed that Ortiz-Lozano stabbed him first, pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty of manslaughter for reduced liability.