Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
By Maeve Gordon and Karrissa Key
A simple overnight stay in Spain in 1970 turned into a year of living in a white classic village.
The situation changed dramatically when 80-year old Australian architect Robert Marshall chose to retire here after 50 years.
Indeed, his move to idyllic Jimena de la Frontera, in Andalucia has turned into a ‘three-year nightmare’ after a squatter took control of his home, forcing him to hire a bodyguard.
It came after a local goatherd agreed to pay him €20,000 a year to farm a third of his stunning 64-acre estate, El Polvorin.
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Bought for €1 million in 2022, Marshall, from Melbourne, had initially got on well with Juan Ruiz, 38, who set up a milking operation for his goats in a shed attached to the farmhouse.
Soon, the charismatic Spaniard gained control of the estate. One year later he claimed it as his and padlocked every door and gate.
Ruiz’s locks were removed by Ruiz after a legal case was filed, but intimidation continued.
Marshall, a 20-year councillor, told The Olive Press that he “filmed me everywhere I went” and “spit at me every time I approached”.
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He continued, “He then ransacked all my belongings and stole my car. Then he filed police complaints about anyone who was near the farm.”
Things got so heated, the expat was forced to buy a small home in the nearby village and even ‘hired a bodyguard to protect’ himself.
Marshall was charged with theft after removing some surveillance cameras from his patio and bedroom. He was convicted in court.
Unbelievable, even though a different Judge ordered the Guardia Civil, to disconnect the squatter’s electricity, but he immediately reconnected.
Marshall is required to pay his electricity bill until he has been evicted under Spanish squatter law. This allows him to continue his goat-milk business.
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“That is around €400 a month, on top of the hundreds I pay for water,” Marshall told the Olive Press. “I have not had a single cent from him and have spent over €25,000 in legal fees to get him out,” he added.
It is little wonder the former architect – who ran his own practice designing dozens of schools and churches – spent six days recently in hospital for stress and is taking anxiety medication.
Marshall won his court case, but must still wait another six month before he can have the squatter removed.
He said, “I don’t know when this nightmare will end.” It was my dream to spend my last years on a Jimena farm, but a squatter has stolen that dream.
The Olive Press is a great source for Andalucia News.
