A convicted killer who is serving over 30 years in prison for the senseless murder of his grandmother’s neighbor has been transferred to the female prison wing after claiming to identify as transgender. Miquel Toni Riera Prats first claimed that he felt like a “female lesbian” last year.
The brutal murder took place in Es Fortí, a neighborhood in Palma, while Riera Prats was traveling to visit his grandmother around Christmas of 2015. A few days after arriving, he went out to a bar with his girlfriend, where he proceeded to get extremely intoxicated on both alcohol and cocaine. At one point, his girlfriend returned back to her home, but Riera Prats went to another bar to consume even more alcohol and drugs.
When he returned to his grandmother’s residential block, he knocked on a neighbor’s door. The woman, Esperanza Ferrutxe, was a 45-year-old bank employee whom he had known since he was a child. Ferrutxe, who was in her pajamas, told Riera Prats that he reeked of alcohol and encouraged him to go back to his grandmother’s apartment. But rather than taking her advice, Riera Prats became violent, shoving the woman and punching her in the face.
When he saw his punch had drawn blood and apparently caused the woman to momentarily stop breathing, Riera Prats dragged the woman further into her house. Despite his later claims that he had “no intention” of killing Ferrutxe, Riera Prats proceeded to strangle her before setting her flat on fire in an effort to destroy evidence of the crime.
A neighbor saw the smoke and called the police. Ferrutxe’s charred corpse was found under a box spring in her bedroom.
Riera Prats would later claim he had committed the crime simply because he “got nervous” when the woman yelled at him about being drunk, causing him to lash out. But he would later confess that he also wanted to steal money and jewelry from Ferrutxe, and became increasingly violent when she resisted.
The perpetrator pleaded guilty and the Court of Palma sentenced him to 36 years in prison for the crimes of murder, robbery with violence and arson, but the Supreme Court lowered the sentence to 30 and a half years in January of 2018. The Second Chamber also sentenced Riera Prats to give 50,000 Euros in compensation to each of Ferrutxe’s two brothers.
Riera Prats has been incarcerated for several years in the Zuera prison in Zaragoza, but he began identifying as a woman following the enactment of Spain’s controversial Trans Law last summer. The legislation significantly eased the requirements for a legal name and sex marker change, allowing anyone over the age of 16 to self-declare their gender and receive extensive protection from the Government on the basis of their identity.
Males who self-identify as women no longer need to take hormones, have surgery, or even change their appearance in order to receive the benefits of the law.
Miquel Toni Riera Prats fue condenado a 30 años y medio de cárcel por matar a golpes a su vecina, robarle e incendiar su casa en 2015.https://t.co/kqXH36Pu2O
— Ultima Hora Mallorca (@UHmallorca) May 31, 2024
Riera Prats reportedly began hormone treatment last summer, and the prison administration has now approved his transfer to the female wing.
This decision has generated controversy amongst prison officials, many of whom have said they consider Riera Prats’ alleged “sex change” to be a “fraud.” The prison administration appears to have denied Riera Prats’ request for a change of facility a few times, but finally conceeded in April, according to Última Hora.
The murderer, who has now grown his hair out, has decided to keep his male name, and has told prison officials that he identifies as a female lesbian.
Riera Prats is married to a woman, with whom he was in a relationship before going to prison. His wife, who lives in Palma, travels frequently to Zaragoza to visit him.
Miquel Toni Riera, asesinó a Esperanza Ferrutxe, de 45 años, el 23 de dicembre de 2015. La estranguló, cubrió su cuerpo con un somier e incendió su casa para borrar sus huellas.
— Feministes de Catalunya (@feministes_cat) May 31, 2024
Hoy es otra de las 5.200 "personas" que según@_anaredondo_ se sienten mejor gracias a la #LeyTrans pic.twitter.com/83Lm2XSFtW
Prior to the enactment of the Trans Law last year, Spanish women’s rights groups warned of the impending consequences of the legislation, including the ability of violent male inmates to be moved to women’s prisons.
In Catalonia, one feminist group noted that thousands of men have had their sentences reduced due to the law by declaring they were “women” in the courtroom. Despite the problems the law has caused, it has been repeatedly defended by the current Minister for Equality, Ana Redondo.
On X, Feministes de Canalunya wrote: “Miquel Toni Riera murdered Esperanza Ferrutxe, 45, on December 23, 2015. He strangled her, covered her body with a box spring and set fire to her house to erase his tracks. Today he is another of the 5,200 ‘people’ that, according to @anaredondo, feel better thanks to the #TransLaw.”
EDIT 6/3/2024: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Riera Prats had been moved to a women’s prison due to a mistranslation. To clarify, he has been moved to the female wing of the prison he had previously been in the male wing of.
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