A BRIT helicopter pilot stabbed his lover to death in a drug-fueled paranoid frenzy after thinking he was being filmed.
Aaron Rainbow, 50, faces up to 20 years in Spanish jail after being found guilty of stabbing his partner-turned-victim six times during a methamphetamine binge.
A jury ruled Friday that Rainbow, originally from Surreymurdered “violently and intentionally” Oscar Tornero, 38, during his chemsex rage.
Rainbow claimed before the start of his trial on October 8 that he acted in self-defense after his “fight or flight” was activated.
He said he had become confused and paranoid after using methamphetamine and GHB at his victim’s home in Vallgorguina, 30 minutes north of the Catalan capital.
The suspect also said he allegedly feared for his own life during the drug-fueled sexual encounter.
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The pilot took the stand on the second day of the public hearing to insist: “I have the feeling that I have not been responsible for this.”
He alleged that he felt scared at the idea that Oscar was recording and live-streaming their drugged sex session and believed strangers were waiting outside to rape him.
Rainbow told the nine-member jury that he went to the kitchen to get a knife to protect himself before closing the door.
Claiming he couldn’t remember how many times he had stabbed his victim, he insisted: “My gut told me I was in serious trouble.”
A neighbor who called 999 as the victim fled reported hearing the Briton shout: “I’ll kill you.”
Oscar, a fashion store worker who was also hired as a companion, tried to escape from his house seriously injured after the attack on October 17, 2023.
In reaching their 8-1 majority verdict, jurors took into account testimony from a man who had a drug-fueled sex session with Rainbow in London three days before the fatal stabbing.
He told the pilot in a WhatsApp Message after she mistook him for another person and also became violent after consuming identical drugs during their sexual session: “I thought you would grab a knife to kill me.”
Oscar’s family lawyer said at the trial: “It was a macabre prelude.”
In a preliminary summary of the accusations presented to the Barcelona Provincial Court, officials said: “A person accused of premeditated murder is being prosecuted. The events took place in 2023.
“According to the prosecutor, the accused and the victim had agreed to meet to have sexual relations and consume narcotic substances for sexual purposes.
“Once at the defendant’s home and after consuming drugs, the defendant took a knife and stabbed the victim several times.”
They added: “To escape, the victim jumped from above to the street and fled on foot until he finally collapsed and died.
“The prosecutor asks for a 19-year prison sentence for the accused.”
Prosecutor Félix Martín increased his prison demand from 19 to 20 years after the jury’s verdict, in line with a private prosecutor acting on behalf of the victim’s family.
Rainbow’s defense attorney. peter Javier Gómez Martínez had requested his client’s acquittal at the beginning of the trial, alleging that at the time of the murder he was suffering from temporary dementia, drug intoxication and insurmountable fear and that he had acted in self-defense.
The convicted murderer’s family had compared the case to a “Netflix thriller” before going to trial, alleging that Spanish police had bungled the investigation and failed to examine electronic devices they claimed could support their fears that “others were watching him and setting him up.”
Rainbow’s brother Dan, from Weybridge, Surrey, had said: “’After his arrest, Aaron said he had been drugged and was aware of people watching online via cameras and feared for his life.
“He wanted to get out of there because he had an uneasy feeling. He grabbed the knife in self-defense and that’s when he fatally stabbed the guy he was in the house with.
“It really is like something out of a netflix show, but this is real life here.”
He added: “Aaron said what made him think people were watching is that Oscar started making hand signals at the camera and thought ‘shit, someone’s watching, I have to get out of here as soon as possible.’
“The guy ran to the door, my brother thought he was letting people into the house, so he grabbed a knife, the fight started and then he fatally stabbed him, but we’re saying he was put in a position of fear and the fight or flight response just kicked in.”
He continued: “The main focus is that they are not looking at any serious evidence and the highlight is the router that was removed from the crime scene the day after the incident by a friend of the deceased.
“We believe there were people connected to that router at the time, but it has been professionally sabotaged and the data cannot be extracted, but the prosecution just doesn’t seem to be concerned.”
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as is normal SpainRainbow’s final sentence will be determined at a later date, and the trial judge will communicate it in writing to the prosecution and defense attorneys instead of summoning them to court for a new session.
The two years that the pilot has been in pretrial detention since his arrest will be taken into account when determining his eventual release date.