A grieving mother searching for answers believes her son was murdered in Spain and has made the heartbreaking journey to where he died.
Sandra Adams has spent the past week in Mojacar on the Costa Almeria where her 35-year-old son Brett Dryden was found dead with a four-inch wound to his head last July.
The mother attempted to speak to police and locals in a bid to piece together Brett’s death in a trip she described as ‘soul destroying’.
Last Friday would have been his 36th birthday and Sandra along with 20 others took part in a memorial walk in the village wearing t-shirts calling for justice as well as laying flowers outside his villa he was found dead.
She travelled to Spain with her husband Robert, Brett’s stepfather, from their home in Chester-le-Street, Co Durham and had planned to hold a protest outside Mojacar town hall.
However, they had to cancel the protest after police told them it would be illegal without applying for a license 40 days prior.
She told the Mirror: ‘People stopped us and asked us what had happened and there were still quite a lot of people who didn’t know.
‘One of Brett’s neighbours pulled us and said ‘it’s disgusting. They’re clearly trying to cover something up’.
Brett Dryden was found dead by friends in Mojacar on the Costa Almeria with a four-inch wound to his head last July
Sandra Adams (pictured left) has spent the past week in the village where her 35-year-old son was found dead
Sandra fears police are covering up Brett’s death to protect tourism and says that officer have been blanking her calls since late August
Sandra fears police are covering up Brett’s death to protect tourism and says that officers have been blanking her calls since late August.
But Spanish pathologists says the father-of-one, formerly a Nissan factory worker, died of a blood clot on his lungs, known as a pulmonary embolism.
Speaking to the Northern Echo, Sandra said: ‘All I know is somebody hurt my boy and if it’s the last thing I do in my life I will get justice.
‘It’s terrible to not have any answers all this time later. I try not to imagine what happened because I would just crumble.
‘I just want to know what’s happened to my boy and then maybe I can move on with my life.’
Brett had lived in Mojacar for five years and set up a legal cannabis club called The Dawg House.
He was found dead by friends on July 22 last year when he didn’t return from a siesta and officers initially told them ‘there’s been a violent murder’ and that he had been hit with an axe.
His cash savings, designer Gucci glasses and phone were later discovered to be missing.
The village of Mojacar in in southern Spain where Brett had live for the past five year
Brett had been living there since 2019 and set up a legal cannabis club called The Dawg House.
Brett (pictured left) was found dead by friends on July 22 last year when he didn’t return from a siesta
Spanish pathologists says the father-of-one, formerly a Nissan factory worker, died of a blood clot on his lungs, known as a pulmonary embolism
Sandra says that after Brett had died she received a silent call from his number and believes it had been stolen.
After tracking his phone Sandra said it was being turned on and off while moving to different areas of Spain.
CCTV footage also shows three men running away from Brett’s home on the night he died, his neighbours told his stepfather Robert.
Luke Hood, a family friend, told the Olive Press that the Spanish police have been hesitant to cooperate with the family.
He said: ‘The police tried to make it as difficult as possible for us to collect [the autopsy] and seemed angry and offended that we were so persistent in trying to get it.
‘The attitude and body language of the woman on the desk reflected this.’
Sandra is now planning on returning to Mojacar on the anniversary of his death in July to hold a protest saying that she ‘won’t rest until I get justice’.
Spanish police have declined to comment. A court spokesman previously said: ‘The investigation hasn’t been suspended or closed. It is still open and this incident remains under investigation.
‘The court is waiting for the Civil Guard to complete their full report and present their conclusions. For the time being there’s nothing more we can say.’
