Coroner rules Preston dad was murdered in Tenerife three years on from his death

An inquest was held on Monday, May 13 to look into the death of Andrew Ashley Alexandre Walch, who died on May 6 2021 at an apartment in Urbanizaction Island Village, Adeje, Tenerife. 

The 31-year-old, who was also known as Ed, is understood to have been stabbed during a suspected burglary at the Island Village complex, near Playa de las Americas, on a Thursday night back in 2021.

A police report sent to a court in Arona at the time of his death stated that Andrew had gone to the apartment "with the intention of stealing drugs or money that could be inside" and sources had confirmed the dead man was known to police in Tenerife.

Five people were arrested and questioned over the former Christ the King High School pupil’s death but three years on, there have still been no charges brought against anyone.

Following the inquest held in Lancashire this week, the coroner confirmed that the cause of death was an unlawful killing.

The coroner’s conclusion reads: “Mr WALCH died as a result of a stab wound inflicted by an individual. Mr WALCH's injuries are consistent with a violent death and Spanish forensic legal documents indicate that Mr WALCH sustained injuries which are more likely to have been offensively inflicted than defensively, indicative of Mr WALCH being the attacked and not the attacker.”

Andrew, who used to live on Acacia Road, Ribbleton, moved to Tenerife in 2020, having had a troubled criminal history in Preston.

He was the first man to be banned from Preston city centre when he was handed a five-year ASBO in 2007.

In 2012 a court case heard how he had fought Hodgkin’s disease, a cancer of the blood, in prison.

It is understood that Andrew had moved to Tenerife to start a fresh life.