Mum of Chester-le-Street man ‘murdered’ in Spain wants case reopened

Brett Dryden was found by friends covered in blood and with a large gash on his forehead in his home in Mojacar, on the Costa De Almeria in July 2024.

CCTV showing two masked men running away from the villa carrying bags was also discovered and the 35-year-old’s phone, designer Gucci glasses and cash was missing.

Despite this, and to his mother Sandra’s heartbreak, authorities claimed dad Brett, who had lived in Spain for five years, died of a blood clot and the Guardia Civil closed their probe.

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Sandra, from Chester-le-Street in County Durham, is now planning on protesting outside a court in Vera in August with the hope a judge will re-open the case and investigate her son’s death as a murder.

The 56-year-old said: “I went in to view his body and saw his head, and thought, that’s not natural causes.

“It’s a mother’s instinct, I know in my heart.

“I want justice for my son – and I want someone to be held accountable for his death.

“I feel determined – I am determined to make a stand and make them listen.

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“I think they thought I would go away, but I won’t.

“What the authorities saw in Spain when Brett died was someone who was broken.

“I am still broken, but my love for Brett makes me stronger.”

To comply with Spanish law, Sandra and her lawyer must apply for a license to protest.

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The grandmother is driven by the results of a second autopsy carried out in the UK which disagreed with Spanish findings.

Dr Cooper, of the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, found Brett sustained bruising and injuries “consistent with having been assaulted”.

Sandra added: “It is shocking that it has had to get to this point, but I feel like I have no choice.

Grieving mum Sandra Dryden, 56, from Chester-le-Street in County Durham, who is convinced her son Brett Dryden was murdered in his Spanish villa in July 2024, (Image: NORTH NEWS & PICTURES)

“I want justice, someone needs to be held accountable.

“I will never stop, it’s the only thing that keeps me going.

“It is soul destroying, a loss like this is on another level.

“I am not the same person I was before, I look in the mirror and don’t see myself anymore.

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“But, I plod on for Brett and for his seven-year-old daughter Charley. She misses her dad terribly.”

Brett, a former Nissan factory worker, moved to Spain back in 2019 and was said to have been thriving as an ex-pat, with many friends and a successful business, a legal cannabis club called The Dawg House.

“He always wanted to own his own business, and said he wanted to go to Spain to set up a cannabis club,” Sandra, a senior carer said.

“I said to him ‘Brett, I don’t want you to do that’, I was instantly worried.

Grieving mum Sandra Dryden, 56, from Chester-le-Street in County Durham, who is convinced her son Brett Dryden was murdered in his Spanish villa in July 2024, (Image: NORTH NEWS & PICTURES)

“But he loved it, he was living his dream and it was his passion.”

The last time Sandra spoke to Brett was just hours before he passed away and she said he appeared to be his usual happy self.

It was only until after Sandra finished her shift at 10pm that her partner Rob, a salesman, called to break the news after being told by friends.

Through tears, he said “Brett’s dead” – and within hours the pair had booked a flight to Spain departing the following morning.

“I don’t know how I got back,” Sandra added.

“I went into a trance, I was just in shock.

“I came into the house and just broke down. 

“I fell to the floor.”

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Strangely, it was at this moment that Sandra got a mysterious call from Brett’s number – a call she believes was from those who stole his phone.

Sandra added the device was located in a traveller camp near Vera, but no further action was taken by police to recover it.

“I just went into shock, I picked up and there was someone on the other line but it was silent,” she said.

“I got that little glimmer of hope.

“I tried ringing back and it just kept ringing.”

As her wait for answers continues, Sandra maintains that Brett’s death is suspicious.

She said: “I know my son, I know he was little but he would have fought.

“I strongly believe Brett’s XL bully Lila knew who was in there, otherwise she would have protected Brett.

The Guardia Civil have been contacted for comment.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who died in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities.”