The Martorell judge rules out investigating the Andic's therapist for now

BarcelonaTwo hours and forty minutes. That's how long the Andic family therapist, J.L., has been answering questions from the judge investigating the death of Mango founder Isak Andic; from the case prosecutor and the defense of Jonathan Andic, who is under investigation for his father's death. The therapist's testimony is key, as the harshest messages from the son to the father – such as "I'm not surprised you thought I was capable of killing you" – were written during their therapy sessions. So much so that the judge in the case asked the Mossos d'Esquadra to investigate if third parties could have been involved in the businessman's death, referring to J.L. For now, however, she entered the Martorell courts on Tuesday morning as a witness and left with the same status. As of now, the judge has decided not to classify her as a suspect.

The day in Martorell was long. It began shortly after ten in the morning and lasted until after 7 p.m. A crowd of journalists recorded and photographed the various people entering the courts, some completely unrelated to the death of Isak Andic. The longest statement, however, was that of J.L. Before it began, there was doubt as to whether she could claim professional privilege despite not being registered – as she did before the Mossos in a previous statement – and these doubts faded as the minutes passed. Time showed that she was answering all questions from all parties. In fact, there was even doubt that she would show up, as the Mossos d'Esquadra have not always been able to locate her easily.

The therapist left accompanied by two agents of the Mossos d'Esquadra, who escorted her to a taxi waiting for her at the courthouse doors, avoiding any conversation with journalists. With J.L.'s statement, the general public has put a face to a therapist known among Barcelona's high society, but with almost no reference on the internet or social media. The judge considers that the therapist intervened between Jonathan Andic and his father so that the latter would give him an inheritance during his lifetime in exchange for not losing their relationship. Andic's defense has always framed the content of these messages – when the Mossos saw them on Isak Andic's mobile phone, that's when they decided to focus on Jonathan – within a psychoanalytic therapy linked to the ideas of Sigmund Freud, who in his literature often speaks of the metaphorical death of the father.

In fact, this Tuesday the therapist's sister also testified for an hour. The reason? She helped her with some therapy tasks and the court wanted to hear her testimony. They did not arrive together, and J.L. left the courthouse before her sister finished testifying. This second one did not leave accompanied by the Mossos. She left on foot, but also did not want to speak to journalists. This has been the usual trend of the day: long statements, indications that the session inside was intense, but silence and secrecy in front of the media. The statements followed one another as various detainees arrived and left the courthouse, taking the same route that Jonathan Andic took in handcuffs when he was arrested by the Mossos on May 19th.

The widow's statement

The therapist's sister's statement was the last one before a 20-minute break that the parties took to have lunch. The judge and the prosecutor had it together in a nearby restaurant, and Jonathan Andic's defense team also opted to leave the courts. The return from the break served to give way to Isak Andic's widow, who had been waiting for some time. Estefanía Knuth's testimony is important because she was one of the first people to talk about a bad relationship between father and son, and she was also the first person Jonathan Andic called when his father plunged to his death in the caves of Collbató. In fact, she was supposed to pick up Isak Andic from the parking lot once they finished the route.

According to judicial sources, Knuth has not requested to be a private prosecutor in the judicial case – she is a victim of Isak Andic's death – and the judge has not proposed it either. Her statement was also long, as it lasted more than two hours. Knuth also did not wish to make any statement to the journalists.

"In shock"

The first to declare early this morning, however, were two hikers who found the son, Jonathan Andic, moments after his father's death. These two men had not yet testified, and this Tuesday they did so for the first time. According to judicial sources, they met Jonathan Andic while he was speaking on the emergency phone after his father's fall. The same sources indicate that they saw him "in shock", "affected", and "blocked". One of the hikers, in fact, also spoke on the emergency phone to help provide the coordinates of the location where they were. Judicial sources add that the two witnesses described how the son was telling emergency services at that moment that he was ahead of his father and heard stones falling.

The hikers explained, according to judicial sources, that they did this route once a year and did not consider it dangerous. At the same time, however, they indicated that at the exact point of the fall, one could fall down a slope if they lost the path. They also described that one of them accompanied Jonathan Andic to the Collbató parking lot, where the Generalitat Firefighters were already present, and the other stayed up above. Afterwards, they continued with their route. Initially, the Mossos did not take statements from these hikers, but they were eventually summoned.

Both they and Estefanía Knuth stayed at the courts for a while after testifying, completing judicial procedures. Specifically, they accessed the cloning of their phones. In the case of the hikers, for example, the route they took that day could be reconstructed. For now, the Mossos have emptied the deceased's phone – from which most messages originate – and one of Jonathan Andic's that was not the one he was carrying on the day of his father's death.

The round of statements in the Andic case, however, is not over yet. This Friday, the two sisters of Jonathan Andic (and daughters of the founder of Mango) are scheduled to speak. In addition, another therapist who intervened between the two will also do so, although J.L. is considered the main coach. In the future, several executives from the multinational are also expected to appear in the Martorell courts. Nevertheless, judicial sources rule out this happening before the summer.