A BRIT helicopter pilot stabbed his lover to death mid-romp in a paranoid drug-fuelled frenzy – after thinking he was being filmed.
Aaron Rainbow, 50, faces up to 20 years in a Spanish jail after being found guilty of stabbing his partner-turned-victim six times during a crystal-meth binge.
A jury ruled on Friday that Rainbow, originally from Surrey“violently and intentionally” killed Oscar Tornero, 38, during his chemsex rage.
Rainbow claimed before the start of his trial on October 8 that he acted in self-defence after his “fight or flight” kicked in.
He said he had become confused and paranoid after taking crystal meth and GHB at his victim’s house in Vallgorguina, 30 minutes north of the Catalan capital.
The suspect also said he allegedly feared for his own life during the drug-fuelled sexual encounter.
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The pilot took the stand on the second day of the public hearing to insist: “I have the feeling I have not been responsible for this.”
He alleged he felt frightened at the idea Oscar was recording and live-streaming their drugged-up sex session and believed strangers were waiting outside to rape him.
Rainbow told the nine-strong jury he went to the kitchen to look for a knife for protection before locking the door.
Claiming he didn’t remember how many times he had stabbed his victim he insisted: “My instinct told me I was in serious trouble.”
A neighbour who called 999 as the victim fled reported hearing the Brit shouting: “I’ll f*****g kill you.”
Oscar, a fashion store worker who also hired himself out as an escort, tried to escape his home critically injured following the October 17, 2023 attack.
In reaching their 8-1 majority verdict, jurors took into account the testimony of a man who had a drug-fuelled sex session with Rainbow in London three days before the fatal stabbing.
He told the pilot in a WhatsApp message after he confused him with someone else and also turned violent following the consumption of identical drugs during their sex session: “I thought you would grab a knife to kill me.”
Oscar’s family lawyer told the trial: “It was a macabre prelude.”
In a pre-trial summary of the allegations that went before Barcelona’s Provincial Court, officials said: “A person accused of premeditated murder is on trial. The events took place in 2023.
“According to the prosecutor, the accused and the victim had arranged to meet for sex and to consume narcotic substances for sexual purposes.
“Once at the accused’s home and after consuming narcotics, the defendant took a knife and stabbed the victim several times.”
They added: “In order to escape, the victim jumped from a height onto the street and fled on foot until he finally collapsed and died.
“The prosecutor is seeking a 19-year prison sentence for the accused.”
State prosecutor Felix Martin increased his prison demand from 19 to 20 years after the jury verdict, in line with a private prosecutor acting on behalf of the victim’s family.
Rainbow’s defence lawyer Pedro Javier Gomez Martinez had requested his client’s acquittal at the start of the trial, claiming that at the time of the murder he was suffering from temporary insanity, drug intoxication and insurmountable fear and he had acted in self-defence.
The convicted killer’s family had compared the case to a “Netflix thriller” before it got to trial, alleging Spanish police had botched the investigation and failed to look into electronic devices they claimed could back up his fears he was “being watched by others and set up.”
Rainbow’s brother Dan, from Weybridge, Surrey had said: “’After his arrest, Aaron said that he had been drugged, and he was aware of people watching online via cameras and he feared for his life.
“He wanted to get out of there because he had an uneasy feeling. He grabbed the knife in self-defence and that’s when he fatally stabbed the guy he was in the house with.
“It really is like something out of a Netflix show, but this is real life here.”
He added: “Aaron said what made him think people were watching is that Oscar started making hand signals to the camera and he thought ‘s**t – someone is watching, I need to get out of here sharpish’.
“The guy made a dash for the door, my brother thought he was letting people into the house, so he grabbed a knife, the fight has started and he’s then fatally stabbed him but we say he was put into a position of fear, and the fight or flight response just kicked in.”
He continued: “The main focus is that they are not looking at some serious evidence and the standout is the router that was removed from the crime scene the day after the incident by a friend of the deceased.
“We believe people were connected to that router at the time, but it’s been professionally sabotaged, and the data cannot be extracted but the prosecution just don’t seem to be concerned.”
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As is normal in SpainRainbow’s eventual sentence will be determined at a later date, with the trial judge communicating it to the prosecution and defence lawyers in writing instead of summoning them to court for a new session.
The two years the pilot has been held in prison on remand since his arrest will be taken into account in determining his eventual release date.