A coroner has ruled Steven Gray was unlawfully killed
A British man was ‘brutally’ shot dead outside a football pitch in southern Spain. Two guns were later found in a burnt-out car, said to have been used by those who killed 32 year-old Steven Gray, from Merseyside, on Easter Monday (April 21), earlier this year.
Mr Gray, originally from Bootle, had been living in Malaga for around a year before his death in the popular holiday resort of Calahonda, on the Costa del Sol. He was fatally shot near the dis Finca Naundrup sports complex. He was leaving after playing football with friends when he was ‘cowardly’ shot from behind, his family said.
Mr Gray’s mum Lynn told the the Liverpool Echo: “Steven was walking to his car after playing a football match with his friends. As he got to his car, with his back to them, [the] cowards brutally shot him from behind.
“Steven didn’t see it coming and died instantly at the scene. This cruel, cowardly act has left Steven’s family and friends devastated. My son will rest easy knowing how loved he’ll always be.”
“[Steven] went to Spain to get away from gang culture. He had no involvement in gang culture. Steven is from a family who care for him and always have and always will love him very much,” she added.
A coroner has now ruled he was unlawfully killed. An inquest at Bootle Town Hall heard today (Tuesday, December, 23): “A witness said at around 7.45pm they saw two people get out of a car and heard shots.
“Death was established between 8pm and 8.30pm. The car used by the shooters had been found burnt-out with two burnt firearms inside. Steven had been walking to his car [when he was shot]. He was found next to his car on the floor.”
The inquest heard Mr Gray was a huge Everton fan and talented midfielder. His family told the proceedings that he had been picked up by the Everton academy when he was four and played at a high level until he broke his leg. Ms Gray said her son’s ‘secret idol’ was Steven Gerrard and his style of play was likened to the former Reds captain.
‘There is no lawful reason to shoot Steven’
His mum told the inquest: “When the death is so violent people do judge and make assumptions. They judge the family as well.” Senior Coroner Anita Bhardwaj told Mr Gray’s family: “We are not here to judge anybody.”
A post-mortem was carried out in Spain and Mr Gray’s cause of death was listed as severe haemorrhaging caused by gunshot wounds to his thorax and abdomen.
The inquest was told that repeated efforts had been made by both the coroners’ office and Mr Gray’s family to find out more about his death from the Spanish authorities. Ms Bhardwaj said: “What we have is extremely limited because they’re not providing us with any information. From all the information known to us there is no lawful reason to shoot Steven, so I find Steven died as a result of unlawful killing.”
Passing on her condolences to Mr Gray’s mum, Ms Bhardwaj added: “I know we are all conditioned to lose our parents, but we are not conditioned to lose a child before us.”
Costa del Sol locals told Spanish newspapers that they heard ‘eight to 10 shots’ when Mr Gray was killed. Local newspaper Sur reported that a Seat Cupra, with foreign number plates, was found on fire a short distance from the crime scene. The same paper reported that authorities were searching for ‘two hooded killers.’
The investigation into Mr Gray’s death is being led by the Guardia Civil. The authority has been approached for information on numerous occasions, but a spokesperson said it does not release details to the media while an investigation is ongoing.
A Spanish source previously told the paper: “There is a basic problem in the area that the Spanish aren’t that bothered about expat violence until they have to be. Perhaps more prescient [is] that the police authorities in the area are under-resourced.”
The shooting of Mr Gray was one of at least eight firearms incidents on the Costa del Sol in the space of two months. These included the shootings of Scottish gangsters Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan, in Fuengirola on May 31. Michael Terrence Riley, 44, has been extradited from Liverpool to stand trial accused of their murders.