Two men have been charged with the grisly Costa del Sol murder of a wealthy British businessman - and the chilling account of how his alleged killers flew from the UK to Spain to end his life laid bare for the first time.
Father-of-one Peter Andrew Williamson, 39, was shot dead as he parked outside his luxury villa in Riviera del Sol near Fuengirola in his two-seater Audi after a gym workout.
Police probing the sickening hitman-style attack on the expat, from Salford, Greater Manchester, arrested one of the suspects in Spain and the other in the UK.
Overnight it emerged Costa prosecutors are seeking prison sentences totalling 22 years for the pair ahead of their trial - 20 years for Mr Williamson’s murder and two years if they are convicted of unlawful weapons possession.
In an indictment charging the two Brits they also laid out in detail what they say happened in the run-up to the broad-daylight shooting on November 21 2019 after they flew to Spain with the “objective and aim of ending the life” of their alleged victim.
Prosecutors are alleging Aaron Anthony Asquith, 25, shot Williamson dead with a 9mm pistol through the window of his Audi in a surprise ambush while Edward Paul Taylor, 39, waited in a getaway vehicle the pair fled the murder scene in.
Both men are from Salford like their alleged victim.
Despite the serious crimes the two Brits have been charged with pending the conclusion of a long-running investigation by a court in Fuengirola, both are back on the streets after being allowed bail.
One was freed from prison just over a month ago and the other on March 20 after an appeal against his continued incarceration by his defence lawyer.
Both men have been told to sign on at court twice a month and have had their passports taken away from them as part of a ban on leaving Spain.
Under Spanish law they could have been held behind bars before trial for up to four years, although the normal time limit is two years and a further two year extension has to be approved by a court.
Spanish police went public with the arrests of the two suspects in June 2020.
One was held for just under three years on remand after his arrest in a small village in the south-east province of Murcia and the other was flown back to Spain after being detained in the UK and extradited.
Spanish cops linked Mr Willamson’s murder to a deadly drugs war between rival gangs when they revealed the two suspects were in custody.
Prosecutors confirmed they are treating the killing as a drugs-related gangland “settling of scores” in their written indictment.
They outline in a 15-page document submitted to the investigating court how the victim’s alleged killers flew to Spain from Manchester around 10 days before the fatal shooting and drove to the Costa del Sol in a rented Opel Corsa car with a two-day Costa Blanca stop-off on the way.
After reaching the area where Mr Williamson, nicknamed Snaggle, lived the accused pair scoped it out and visited different places “with clear interest in finalising the preparations needed to end his life as well as obtaining the weapon they would use to do so” according to the indictment.
Prosecutors say the day of the murder the two suspects made sure Peter’s UK-plated Audi S5 was parked outside the Max-Fitness gym he frequented before heading to his nearby home and lying in wait for him, “with help from third persons who have not been identified to tip them off about when the victim was heading their way.”
Recounting their version of the slain man’s final moments, they added in their indictment: “Peter parked his car outside his home and while the engine was still running, his alleged killer walked up to him on the right side of the vehicle and with the intention of ending his life, and using a pistol with 9mm ammunition, fired off several shots through the window of the seat the driver was sat in.
“The attack was sudden and left the victim with no possibility whatsoever to defend himself.”
It added: “As a result Peter Andrew Williamson died almost immediately from eight gunshot wounds to his chest and limbs.”
The murder weapon has never been found.
Prosecutors are treating Asquith as the “material author” of the crime and Taylor as a “necessary participant” although both men have been charged with the same crimes of murder and unlawful weapons possession.
They also want them to pay Mr Williamson’s partner and child EUROS 150,000 (POUNDS 131,000) if they are convicted of killing him at trial. No date for the public hearing, which would take place with a jury, has yet been set.
Spanish police said when they went public with the arrests of two suspects they did not name in June 2020: “For investigators the main motive for the crime is the rivalry between two different drug trafficking gangs.
“From the start the Civil Guard knew the British victim had previous for crimes committed in the UK.”
They said the killers’ modus operandi in the chilling murder showed their “criminal experience, cold blood and dangerousness.”
They also revealed in a statement: “One of the authors of the crime was arrested in the UK and sent to prison for previous crimes he had committed in Britain.
“He is the subject of a European Arrest Warrant so the Spanish courts can try him for the killing carried out here.
“The other detainee was moving around other European countries and South America for five months.
“He returned to Spain when the coronavirus-linked state of alarm was declared and settled in a small village in Murcia.
“He was arrested there at a house used to prepare the shipping of cannabis resin.
“When he was held, police found 20 kilos of the drug vacuum-packed.
“Police also arrested another alleged member of the drug trafficking gang.”
Spanish business records show Mr Williamson was registered as a self-employed agricultural sector intermediary specialising in “international trade.”
Respected Malaga-based paper Sur reported shortly after he was shot dead that he had been arrested in March 2019 by Spanish police for using a transport firm to send cannabis resin from the Costa del Sol to an unidentified destination.
There was no official comment from Spanish police at the time about the reports. His family have insisted he had “nothing to do” with crime.
