Prosecutor shifts stance at trial's close

In the final pleadings session at the Provincial Court of Seville on 2 October 2026, public prosecutor Isabel Novoa introduced an alternative request for the full acquittal of Rafael Vicario. Vicario is the sole defendant on trial for the death of his 19-year-old partner, Ana Buza, who died early on the morning of 7 September 2019 on the A-4 motorway in Carmona. The prosecution had originally sought a three-year prison term for involuntary manslaughter, arguing that negligent driving during a heated argument led to Buza exiting the car at 117 kilometres per hour. In her address to the jury, however, Novoa focused primarily on an alternative petition for acquittal, stating that the trial was a complex puzzle and that evidence failed to prove reckless driving or that Vicario deliberately enabled the right-side door to open. Her shift took place in complete silence across the courtroom, confronting the family's long-held concerns regarding the public prosecution's stance.

“The only objective fact is that Ana exited the vehicle while it was moving at 117 kilometres per hour.”

Competing expert evidence on motorway incident

The trial has centered on conflicting technical reconstructions of what happened on the Carmona deceleration lane. The Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team (ERAT) of the Civil Guard determined that physical evidence from the roadway was incompatible with the intentional vehicular strike alleged by the victim's parents.

“What happened the night the girl died is not compatible with a fatal vehicular hit.”

Independent experts hired by the family strongly disputed the Civil Guard findings during the hearings. Those specialists argued that an occupant falling from a car moving at roughly 117 kilometres per hour would have sustained severe trauma rather than the specific abrasion patterns documented, asserting that the official explanation lacked credibility. The family's private prosecution contends that Vicario intentionally struck Buza with the vehicle after she exited onto the asphalt. Consequently, the family is maintaining a formal request for a 20-year prison sentence on charges of murder or intentional homicide.

Private prosecution (family)20

Public prosecution (primary claim)3

Private prosecution (family)

20 years

Public prosecution (primary claim)

3 years

Data from the article text

Seven-year push to overturn suicide ruling

The Seville trial follows seven years of legal campaigning by Buza's parents, who fought to overturn early conclusions by local investigators. Within 36 hours of the incident in September 2019, the Civil Guard, coroners from the Institute of Legal Medicine of Seville, and an investigating judge in Carmona had closed the case as a suicide. The victim's parents rejected that initial finding, searching independently for private forensic and telematics specialists to assemble evidence that eventually secured a trial before the provincial court. Throughout the investigation and the subsequent court hearings, Vicario, who did not suffer any physical injuries during the 2019 incident, has denied all criminal wrongdoing and maintained his request for total acquittal.

Jury deliberations set for Seville court

The trial concluded after nine court sessions before the Provincial Court of Seville, leaving the case ready for a verdict from a nine-member jury comprising six women and three men. Deliberations are scheduled to commence on Monday, 5 October 2026. Jurors will assess three distinct legal requests that have emerged across the trial: the private prosecution's demand for a 20-year sentence for murder, the public prosecutor's primary request for three years for involuntary manslaughter, and the joint defense and alternative prosecution petitions for total acquittal. The forthcoming decision will resolve whether Buza's death was a deliberate homicide, a negligent driving incident, or an act without criminal liability.