One of the two men under investigation for the murder of a Belfast father-of-one at a Spanish holiday resort has been shot dead on the Costa Blanca. Michael Maly, detained in January last year as the suspected accomplice of John George’s Northern Ireland-born alleged killer Johnny Smyth, was shot in the early hours of Sunday morning in Torrevieja south of Alicante.
Czech Republic national Maly was arrested on suspicion of homicide shortly after the January 7, 2025 discovery of Mr George’s body in an orchard in Rojales near Torrevieja. An investigating judge freed the 33-year-old on bail after informing him he would continue to examine him as a suspected accomplice to the murder.
Mr George’s suspected killer, Smyth, married to a 21-year-old Only Fans model, spent most of last year in prison after being arrested at an Airbnb in northern Portugal and extradited to Spain, reports Belfast Live.
He was told he could leave his Costa remand cell last December after paying £87,000 bail. Neither Smyth nor Maly had been formally charged, as is standard in Spain, where prosecution indictments are only submitted shortly before trial.
Former soldier Maly was shot dead on a street close to the sea on a residential estate called Rocio del Mar, just above Punta Prima Beach, a short drive south of Torrevieja town centre.
A local raised the alarm around 1.30 am on Sunday after discovering the victim lying on the ground with head wounds. Paramedics rushed to the scene but were unable to save his life.
No arrests have been made as of yet, and it’s believed that police are keeping an open mind regarding the potential motive.
The Civil Guard, who are spearheading the murder investigation, have not yet issued any official statements.
Maly’s killing is the most recent in a string of violent crimes that have shaken the southern part of the Costa Blanca, a Spanish holiday favourite which has become the epicentre of drug-related conflicts between rival gangs with significant British and Irish involvement.
On 21 December last year, the bullet-ridden body of a 29-year-old British man was discovered at a residential property in an area known as Campoamor in Orihuela Costa, just north of Torrevieja.
The Civil Guard didn’t confirm the grim discovery until 29 December, stating that officers had been alerted about a body at the location where they found the deceased man and that the investigation had been handed over to a homicide unit.
An arrest has been made and the individual detained was sent to prison last month, but police, who are thought to be considering further arrests, have yet to make any official comment.
News of the December murder came to light less than three weeks after a British man narrowly escaped death after being shot at least three times in an underground car park in the same area.
In May last year, an Irishman suffered critical injuries after being shot in the head near a shopping centre close to Torrevieja called La Zenia Boulevard. Two suspects were detained a fortnight later on suspicion of attempted murder.
Last June, a second 29-year-old Irishman was knifed in the neck from behind whilst urinating near the same shopping centre and required emergency life-saving surgery.
A 58-year-old Irishman was detained over the stabbing attack the following month.
Belfast man Mr George’s body was discovered after desperate pleas by his family following his disappearance in December 2024.
Maly is believed to have guided detectives to his remains.
Johnny Smyth’s new Only Fans wife, Madison, whom he wed in Gibraltar secretly after they escaped Spain following John George’s murder, has encountered several legal troubles herself in recent months.
She served ten days in custody in September following an initial arrest after officers stopped her Audi A5 Cabrio and uncovered nearly a kilo of crystal meth and 30 grams of cannabis resin inside, before being freed from detention.
Her second arrest happened after two loaded pistols were discovered in a vehicle she was driving during a police stop. Three other men were in the car with her but only two were detained, a British national and an Irish national, because one escaped.
Madison and the other two men remain under investigation by a judge on suspicion of unlawful weapons possession. A regional publication revealed in January that officers were examining a potential connection between the weapon discovery and the December 21 killing of the British individual whose name remains undisclosed.
No official confirmation has yet emerged that authorities are investigating whether the two incidents might be linked.
Following her second detention, Madison Smyth became embroiled in a third matter which prompted police attendance and triggered a judicial investigation.
She was reportedly driving a vehicle that collided with another car containing four British citizens on January 16 in El Campello near Alicante. One of the four passengers, a 54-year-old man, perished.
Madison was cautioned at the collision site but avoided formal arrest. She was subsequently informed that she faced investigation on suspicion of causing death through negligence.
In January, the Liverpool Echo disclosed that investigators across Spain and the UK were examining the disappearance of a Merseyside resident.