A Swedish man has been jailed for three-and-a-half years after trying to kill a security guard and injuring three others during a knife attack at Marbella’s luxury Puente Romano resort.
The 25-year-old, identified by the initials H.H., launched two stabbing blows towards one worker’s neck during the violent incident at Chanca, an entertainment venue at the hotel, in July 2024.
One of the blows left the victim with serious injuries and permanent scarring.
The Malaga Provincial Court has now convicted the Swede of attempted homicide, bodily harm and two counts of minor bodily harm.
In addition to his prison sentence, judges have ordered that he be expelled from Spain after serving half of his jail term and banned from returning to the country for 10 years.
Fight breaks out at luxury Marbella resort
The attack happened at around 4am after a fight involving several people broke out inside the venue.
According to the facts established by the court, security workers intervened and removed H.H. from the establishment.
But as they escorted him down a flight of stairs, he pulled out a knife and began lashing out at them.
The guards were forced to use pepper spray in an attempt to defend themselves.
Once outside, the Swede remained in what the judgment described as a state of extreme aggression and continued attacking members of the security team.
It was then that he attempted to kill one of the workers.
The court found that H.H. launched two stabbing blows towards the man’s neck ‘with the intention of ending his life’, with one hitting its target.
Despite other security workers trying to stop him, he continued brandishing the weapon and struck another man in the right arm.
Two more guards who intervened were also injured.
Police find him still holding knife
Police arriving at the scene found H.H. still armed with the knife and behaving violently.
The judgment states that he initially refused to obey officers’ commands to stop before eventually being subdued and arrested.
Contemporary reports of the attack identified the suspect as a 25-year-old Swedish national from Stockholm who was staying at a resort in nearby Benahavis.
The same reports said police provided emergency first aid to the injured security workers, including applying pressure to wounds and using tourniquets to stem the bleeding.
The most seriously injured guard suffered a deep wound to his neck and was taken to the Hospital Costa del Sol, where he required surgery.
Initial reports said three security workers had been stabbed during the incident.
However, the court judgment has now established that four workers were injured in total.
Almost €70,000 paid before trial
Before proceedings began, H.H. deposited €59,178 and a further €9,850 with the court to meet the civil liabilities being sought by his victims.
He admitted the facts of the case and accepted the sentences requested by prosecutors and the private prosecution, as well as the compensation claims.
His payment of the money before trial was considered a mitigating factor for having repaired the damage caused.
The court sentenced him to three-and-a-half years behind bars and imposed an additional €900 fine.
The most seriously injured security worker was awarded €7,040 for his injuries and another €40,483 for the lasting consequences, while a second victim was awarded €10,400.
The relevant compensation has already been paid.
Expelled from Spain
H.H. will not serve his entire sentence in a Spanish prison.
The court ordered that after he has completed half of the three-and-a-half-year term, the remainder of his sentence will be replaced by his expulsion from Spain.
He will then be prohibited from returning to the country for 10 years.
If he breaches the ban, he will be required to serve the outstanding portion of his prison sentence.
