British man is jailed for 25 years in Croatia for stabbing fellow UK tourist to death outside a nightclub
- Douglas Cane, 27, was found guilty of murdering Ugo Wilson in June 2018
- Cane stabbed his fellow Briton to death outside a nightclub on the island of Pag
- Cane was also found guilty of trying to kill two other Britons in the ensuing brawl
- He had attempted to flee Croatia but was picked up at Split airport by authorities
A British man was sentenced to 25 years in jail by a Croatian court on Thursday for stabbing to death a fellow tourist outside a nightclub two years ago.
Douglas Cane, 27, was found guilty of murdering fellow Briton Ugo Wilson and attempting to kill two other compatriots during a brawl, said the court in the coastal town of Zadar.
The fight erupted in June 2018 outside a nightclub on a beach on the island of Pag which is popular for its clubbing scene.
Wilson, 26, a London gangster who had been jailed in 2013 for smash-and-grab raids on phone shops, was stabbed through the chest by Cane just a few seconds after leaving the Kalypso nightclub.
Douglas Cane, 27, was found guilty of murdering fellow Briton Ugo Wilson and attempting to kill two other compatriots during a brawl, said the court in the coastal town of Zadar (pictured: Cane is taken out of the back of a police van in June 2018)
Video surveillance footage of the crime scene ‘undoubtedly shows’ that just a few seconds after Ugo Wilson, 26, (left and right) came out of the night club, the defendant jumped and stabbed him in the chest, the court said in the ruling
Video surveillance footage of the crime scene ‘undoubtedly shows’ that the defendant jumped and stabbed him, the court said in the ruling.
Cane then unleashed his fury on two other Britons, both in their 20s, one of whom suffered serious wounds.
Cane tried to flee Croatia, which the court found an aggravating circumstance.
But he was arrested the next day at the airport in Split, on the central coast.
The court did not elaborate on the motives of the crime but said Cane ‘acted with intent’.
Cane has convictions in the UK, including drug abuse and the sale of stolen goods, the court heard.
Wilson, his victim, likewise had achieved notoriety for his involvement in a London gang which caused £500,000 worth of damage to more than 40 Carpone Warehouse shops as a 21-year-old.
Several members of the gang were jailed for 11 years after abusing shoppers, threatening staff and chasing children before ripping phones and iPads off walls.
Wilson himself was given a 27-month prison term at the time for his involvement in the spree.
On each occasion the criminals caused ‘total mayhem’ when they stormed high street shops to wrench high-value items from the walls in a series of violent ‘steaming’ raids.
The fight erupted in June 2018 outside a nightclub on a beach on the island of Pag. The northern island, notably the town of Novalja and Zrce beach, is popular for its clubbing and electronic music scene.
Cane’s defence attorneys said they would appeal against the verdict.
Tourism is a pillar of Croatia’s economy, with visitors flocking to hundreds of islands and islets along its stunning Adriatic coast.
Last year the country of 4.2 million people welcomed about 20 million tourists. They included 850,000 from Britain.