A Slovkian model found guilty of murdering her British ex-boyfriend has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison by a Spanish court.
Mayka Kukucova, 26, was sentenced to15 years in jail for murder, and another six months for breaking into the apartment where the shooting took place.
Last week a jury in Malaga found Kukucova guilty of killing Andrew Bush on 5 April 2014. She said she had not meant to harm Bush, claiming the former jewellery store owner died during a violent struggle at his home on the Costa del Sol.
Prosecutors said Kukucova shot the 48-year-old millionaire twice in the head and once in the shoulder.
The court heard there had been a violent struggle before Bush’s death, after he returned home unexpectedly from a trip to the UK while Kukucova was in the house collecting her possessions. She had allegedly been staying in the house for at least two days and was reported to have made a getaway in Bush’s Hummer vehicle.
Kukucova, who did not enter a formal plea, said shots were fired during the fight but denied murder.
Bush was previously married to a former BBC Bristol presenter, Sam Mason, the mother of his daughter, Ellie, 21. He met Kukucova, a former model, when she worked in his shop in Bristol; the couple were together for two and a half years but the relationship ended about six months before Bush’s death, she told the court.
Bush’s sister Rachel, told the jury that Kukucova was a liar. “Unless someone has had someone close to them be murdered, they cannot understand how it feels. It was very hard to see Kukucova there in court, telling those lies.”
Ellie Mason-Bush made a tearful tribute to her father in the courtroom. “He was my only parent growing up,” she said. “He was the only person that I had.” She said that even though he and Kukucova had split up, “he was still supporting her and still wanted to help her”.
Maria Korotaeva, Bush’s girlfriend at the time, was sitting in Bush’s Hummer vehicle outside the property when he was killed. The court heard that Kukucova left the house after the shooting and told Korotaeva to get out of the car before driving off.
Kukucova handed herself in to authorities in her home town of Nova Bosaca in Slovakia where she was detained on suspicion of “consumed intentional homicide” before being extradited to Spain to face charges of murder and vehicle theft.
Korotaeva, a Russian national, met Bush while she was studying as an undergraduate at the University of the West of England. Giving her account of the night, Korotaeva told the court: “I never imagined what was happening. Andy had never said anything bad about her, just that he couldn’t be with her any more.”
On Monday she posted a picture of herself with Rachel and Ellie on Instagram with the caption: “Me, Ellie and Rachel Bush yesterday night in Malaga. We will do anything in our power to get justice.”
