Boys accused of Tenerife murder

TWO boys have been charged with the murder of a semi-retired Yorkshire businessman found stabbed to death on the holiday island of Tenerife.

Peter Cockshutt, 71, was found dead at his villa in the Canary Islands resort of Costa del Silencio on Monday, after what may have been a bungled robbery.

A 16-year-old and a 14-year-old, both of South American origin, have been charged with murder and robbery and are expected to appear in court later this week or next week.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The windows had been forced in the villa in Costa del Silencio where Mr Cockshutt’s body was found and everything inside was in disarray, a Civil Guard spokeswoman said.

A post-mortem examination was carried out on Monday evening but the results have not yet been made public, she said.

The resort of Costa del Silencio – or the Silent Coast – is situated in the Arona municipality and was one of the first areas of the Spanish island to be specifically developed for tourism.

While many who live there say it is no worse a place for crime than anywhere else, Costa del Silencio has suffered a spate of robberies recently.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Cockshutt and his wife Patricia, who have five children and nine grandchildren, shared their time between their home in Brandesburton, in the East Riding and Tenerife. Mrs Cockshutt had been on the island but flew home on Saturday, and asked a neighbour to call on her husband on Monday, after she was unable to raise him on the phone.

Their daughter Janice Hackett said: “My mum had flown back to Britain on Saturday because they were having repairs done to the house and she wanted to be here.

“If it hadn’t been for that, she would have been in Tenerife as well when it happened. We are just thankful she wasn’t. Usually, when she flies home my dad rings her, but we couldn’t get in touch with him. Mum wasn’t worried at first, because he often goes to north Tenerife to see friends on a Sunday. They had lots of friends there.”

She added: “He was a businessman. He worked hard all his life. He had a dry, wicked sense of humour. It is hard to explain how we are feeling. My mum is as to be expected.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mrs Cockshutt is being comforted by family at home while youngest daughter Anne, 42, flew to Tenerife to speak to the local authorities. The couple had been going to Tenerife for 25 years and had always felt secure.

Mrs Hackett said: “It was as safe as anywhere. Let’s be honest, it could happen anywhere. Mum and Dad used to stay there by themselves. Safety has never been an issue.

“As far as we know, it was a burglary gone wrong.”

She said news reports had given the family more information than the authorities had. “That’s how we found out he was stabbed three times.”

Mr Cockshutt, a self-employed electrician during his working life, came out of retirement last May to set up a firm called Eco Aqua Solutions, which imported and distributed biodegradable disinfectants.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The couple had lived in Fitling, in Holderness, for around seven years before moving to Brandesburton in 2009. In Fitling residents remembered him volunteering to help when the electrics blew at the local Methodist chapel and attending village brunches.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We can confirm the death of a British national in Tenerife, Spain, on February 8 2010.

“Consular staff are contacting the next of kin and will offer consular assistance. Local police are investigating.”

Related topics: