Tenerife Beheading Trial To Start

'It Will Reopen Our Wounds' Daughters Of Tenerife Beheading Victim To Attend Suspect's Trial

The daughters of a woman who was beheaded in Tenerife say they want to come "face to face" with the man accused of their murder.

Jennifer Mills-Westley, 60, was killed in the popular holiday resort of Los Cristianos on the island in May 2011.

Bulgarian man Deyan Deyanov was arrested on suspicion of killing her and held at a psychiatric unit. He is due to go on trial in Tenerife on Monday.

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Jennifer Mills-Westley was beheaded in Tenerife

The victim's daughters, Sarah and Sam, spoke of the "daunting prospect" of returning to the country for the trial, hoping to banish memories which have been "shrouded by the brutality of her death".

In a joint statement they said: "On Friday May 13 2011 our lives changed irrevocably when we heard the shocking news that our much loved mother had been brutally murdered in Tenerife.

"Now, nearly two years later we will come face to face with the man who took her life that day and relive the heart-breaking details of the events leading up to her untimely death.

"Going back to Tenerife not only is a daunting prospect but it will reopen our wounds.

"We have to hope that justice will prevail so we can lay our mother to rest, and remember her in happier times rather than the memories we currently have - memories which are shrouded by the brutality of her death."

The sisters added that they wished for privacy during the trial and would a make further statement at its conclusion.

Ms Mills-Westley, originally from Norwich, Norfolk, was inside a Chinese-owned shop on Avenida Juan Carlos when she was viciously stabbed and decapitated.

She had been living in Tenerife after retiring from her job as a road safety officer with Norfolk County Council.