A British couple whose son died in Spain in mysterious circumstances have released footage of his blood-stained home because they believe he was murdered.
Father-of-one Brett Dryden, 35, was found dead at his home in Mojácar on the Costa de Almeria on July 21, 2024, after failing to return from an afternoon nap.
The former Nissan factory worker had a large four-centimetre-long gash above his right eye and the walls and furniture were covered in bloody handprints, which MailOnline can show for the first time.
Brett’s home had also been burglarised, with his phone, wallet, designer Gucci sunglasses and car keys all missing.
Even the autopsy report, carried out the day after his body was found by friends, mentions that ‘signs of a struggle were observed in the home, as well as bloodstains in several locations’.
It also notes that the ‘Judicial Police later reported that his home had been robbed’.
But despite those details, the postmortem ruled that the death was caused by acute alveolar hemorrhage – a condition in which bleeding occurs into the air sacs of the lungs.
The medical examiners who carried out the autopsy claimed it was triggered by a pulmonary embolism caused by the use of cocaine and cannabis – and the case was closed the same day.
Father Brett Dryden, 35, was found dead at his home in Mojácar on the Costa de Almeria, Spain on July 21, 2024
The case was shut a day after Brett’s death following an autopsy, despite his apartment being streaked with blood on almost every surface
A large bloody handprint can be seen next to the light switch on the wall in Brett’s home
But Brett’s mother Sandra Adams, 56, from Chester-le-Street in County Durham, has now repatriated her son’s body and ordered a new autopsy in the hopes of getting fresh answers.
She believes there are a number of aspects that suggest there was foul play at work in her son’s death – and is raising money through GoFundMe to fight for justice.
The grieving mother told MailOnline: ‘They claimed he fell and bashed his head. With a pulmonary embolism it’s not a quick death, there was blood all over his villa, there was bloody handprints – the only reason we know that is my husband went into the villa and took photos of it all.’
After Brett’s possessions were reported missing by Sandra four days after Brett’s death, a local court ordered the police to reopen the case as a homicide investigation.
Around a week after Brett’s body was found, Sandra’s husband Rob Adams, 53, was able to source CCTV footage of the street outside Brett’s house, which was sent direct to the local Guardia.
The video evidence showed two men running away from Brett’s home with a bag. It was the same bag that Brett was earlier seen leaving his bar with – leaving Sandra to believe it contained the bar’s previous night’s takings.
The case report, which Sandra was only able to access in the last few weeks after hiring a Spanish lawyer, also notes that the faces of the men on the CCTV were visible.
Brett’s MacBook was also still attached to his phone and using the Find My iPhone app, Sandra was able to see that it was still in use.
A bloody handprint is also visible on the sofa downstairs, which also contains other streaks of blood
Brett’s mother Sandra Adams and stepfather Rob Adams believe their son may have been murdered
Brett stands by the seafront with his arm around his mum Sandra
Brett ran a legal cannabis bar in Mojacar called The Dawg House – his mum Sandra believes whoever killed him may also have stolen takings waiting to be banked
Brett visited Disneyland Paris in February last year with his mother Sandra, after she was diagnosed with cancer
The 35-year-old had lived in Mojacar on the Costa de Almeria in Spain for five-and-a-half years
Brett’s mother Sandra said: ‘Brett was very adventurous and outdoorsy. He loved to travel and try different foods’
She said: ‘I went on and it was in Vera and kept pinging in different locations but kept going back to a certain house. The Guardia said “We know” but didn’t seem that interested.’
The family also found out that around 1pm on the day Brett died, he had been on the phone with his colleague but had ended the call abruptly with the words: ‘I’ve got to go, they’re here’.
Brett managed a cannabis bar in Mojácar, where he had lived for five-and-a-half years, having originally moved there with his then-girlfriend when his daughter Charlie was three months old.
Sandra said: ‘Brett was very adventurous and outdoorsy. He loved to travel and try different foods. He was a good dad and he adored his daughter.’
The family went to Disneyland Paris in February for Brett’s daughter Charley’s fifth birthday and the year before he went to Ibiza with his mother after she was diagnosed with cancer.
Sandra said: ‘He came home to the UK a lot and Facetimed us all the time.
‘He was so kind. The lady next door to where he lived told us that Brett put up her television for her and described him as a ‘lovely boy’. He also bought a blanket and food and 10 euros for a homeless guy.
‘He didn’t have any enemies, he was only little – he would never look for trouble but he could look after himself. We used to say ‘you have little man syndrome’ because he was only 5ft 6½in.’
Brett pictured with his mother Sandra in his teenage years, who described the ‘devastation’ of losing her son
Brett Dryden (left) as a young boy in shirt and tie with with his beloved sister Shannon
Brett’s mother Sandra said her son (pictured) regularly returned to the UK to visit family and frequently Facetimed with her and stepdad Rob
Sandra believes that the previous week’s takings from the bar – as much as £6,000 – may have been stolen from his home, while Brett’s car door was also open with his keys missing – despite usually parking at the back of his property.
She said: ‘I asked the police do they have his sunglasses, phone, wallet and they said “yeah yeah yeah”.
‘We went to see him in the funeral home and I just got this gut feeling that it wasn’t an accident, it wasn’t natural causes.
‘Before I went to see him we were going to have him cremated because Spain was his home, but once I saw him I decided to repatriate him for another autopsy to be done.
‘We went to court for Brett’s body to be released, but in between that time I noticed they didn’t have his phone, wallet, sunglasses. They asked the code for his phone, and it was for his old phone, a Samsung, whereas I knew he had an iPhone.’
Police also let two of Brett’s friends twice walk through the crime scene to get his dog, an XL Bully.
Sandra described the devastation of hearing the news of Brett’s death while she was on her way back from her job.
She said: ‘I was driving home from work and Rob rang me at 10.10pm and he was hysterical.
Ms Adams travelled to Spain alongside family and friends in April to commemorate Mr Dryden’s death on what would have been his 36th birthday
‘He said “Did you see the call from Brett’s friend?” I’d spoken to Brett in the morning. He was well and happy and his normally bubbly self. To get that call to say he had passed away was devastating.’
The day after Brett’s passing, a newspaper in Spain published a story claiming that it was a violent death on June 22 and that it looked like he had been struck in the head by an axe – but two days later the same paper ran a story reporting that it was actually a pulmonary embolism.
The family flew over to Spain. The Guardia told Sandra that Brett had actually had a pulmonary embolism.
However, the autopsy describes a 5cm x 4cm wound to the ‘right side of his head, above his eye’ with ‘irregular, crescent-shaped edges on the forehead, transverse to the axis of the right eyebrow.’
Sandra said: ‘On Brett’s birthday we went to lay flowers and a lady said I’m really sorry for your loss, he was a lovely boy, please keep going – don’t stop, they are trying to cover it up.
‘Then another woman stopped to say Brett had helped to put her telly up and to keep fighting.’
Earlier this year Sandra and her husband Rob Adams, Brett’s stepfather, returned to Spain with a plan to hold a protest outside Mojacar town hall in their quest for justice.
However, they had to cancel the event after police told them it would be illegal without applying for a license 40 days prior.
Brett had lived in Spain for five-and-a-half years, having originally moved there with his then-girlfriend when his daughter Charlie was three months old
Instead Sandra and Rob, along with 20 others including Brett’s sister Shannon, 31, Brett’s daughter Charley, 6, his aunt and two nephews celebrated what would have been Brett’s 36th birthday with a memorial walk in the village. Brett’s best friend Luke also flew in from Derby.
Sandra said: ‘We were going out to do a protest on his birthday at the town hall – but we got a call on the 10th from the police captain who asked to meet. He said there was rules and regulations about holding a protest.
‘We met on the 11th and he said you have to apply for a license from a government of Almeria. The only time we’ve been shown any empathy.
‘He said you can still wear your t-shirts and do a walk along the pier and we laid flowers up at the villa for Brett’s birthday.’
Sandra and her supporters have also made plans to return to Mojacar on July 21, the anniversary of Brett’s death, for a legal protest to try and force the hand of local law enforcement.
She said: ‘We’ve had no news. They say “It’s a closed case and we can’t tell you anything”.
‘When I went to collect the autopsy report, they were trying everything possible to delay handing off the results.
‘It’s just proved that they probably were going to try and brush it under the carpet.
The day after Brett’s passing, a newspaper in Spain published a story claiming that it was a violent death – although the story was retracted two days later
‘We were told “Don’t go to the papers, it will harm your case.” But we need to get it out there, when we were there some of Brett’s neighbours drove past and said “Please don’t stop, keep going.”
Sandra has since repatriated Brett’s body back to the UK and is now awaiting the results of a new autopsy carried out at the family’s expense.
The family have also engaged a lawyer in Spain to look into the case and have investigated the possibility of hiring a private investigator to try and uncover the truth of what happened.
Speaking to the Northern Echo in February, 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.’
Spanish police were unable to be reached for 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.’
