Ex-chef Gets 10-Month Suspended Sentence for Death Threats with Knife Against Hotel Boss

The Corts Court has sentenced a 57-year-old former head chef to 10 months of suspended prison time for making unconditional death threats with a weapon against his superior at a hotel in Sant Julià de Lòria. The Wednesday ruling also orders him to pay the victim €1,000 in civil damages, cover court costs, and surrender his firearms permit along with all knives and blades mentioned in the trial.

The threats took place in late August 2020 during an ongoing labour dispute. The court found prosecutors had proven the man repeatedly voiced intent to kill the hotel's kitchen head—whom he had worked alongside for years—both to colleagues and the victim's relatives. Witnesses, including a coworker and the superior's mother, testified to hearing statements such as "if I run into him, I'll slash him," often while the accused displayed a knife. These created genuine fear and credible risk, despite the victim not witnessing every incident directly.

The defence maintained the remarks stemmed from momentary anger amid personal and workplace tensions, with no genuine intent, and requested acquittal. Judges rejected this, classifying the acts as a major offence of unconditional threats with a weapon. The sentence fell short of the 14 months sought by prosecutors.

The trial, held in April, highlighted the pair's strained professional history, with the accused blaming his superior for his troubles.