Spanish man admits murdering Chinese businesswoman in trial

A man admitted in a Madrid court on Tuesday that he had killed Chinese businesswoman Chen Juan by shooting her in the head while attempting a robbery.

The case has come to trial around 14 months after the shooting, which happened in the shop Chen Juan and her husband had in the Madrid district of Moratalaz on Feb. 2, 2014.

On the first day of the trail for Chen Juan's murder, the defendant, who was identified as Israel RM, admitted shooting Chen Juan, but said he remembered nothing about the incident as he had been under the influence of drugs.

"I felt I was flying along the street and I don't remember anything," he said at the trial, which was held at the Madrid Provincial Court, where he is accused of homicide and robbery with violence.

The accused admitted he has been taking various kinds of drugs since he was 12 years old and had been taking methadone when he killed 29-year-old Chen Juan.

"I needed something to calm me down," he said.

Chen Juan had been at the till of the shop along with her seven year-old son when Israel RM took out a Smith and Western revolver and shouted "Give me the money."

There were 277.88 euros (303.01 U.S. dollars) in the till at the time which Chen Juan refused to hand over. In the struggle afterwards, Israel RM put his gun close to the left side of Chen's head and shot her.

Chen Juan's husband Keyi Zhu and her son returned to live in China after her death, but he testified the child "still had nightmares" and the incident had done "great damage" to his family.

Regional Prosecutors have requested a 23 year prison sentence for the killer, while Chen Juan's family has asked for a penalty of 27 years and six months in jail for Israel RM, plus compensation of 220,000 Euros.

The verdict is expected to be given on Wednesday.( 1 euro = 1.09 U.S. dollars)