Spanish homicide case into Briton's Mojácar death provisionally closed; family voices frustration
Relatives say authorities have not charged anyone after Brett Dryden, 35, was found dead at his Mojácar home in 2024 with head injuries and signs of a struggle.
A Spanish judge provisionally closed the homicide investigation into the death of Brett Dryden, a British man found dead at his Mojácar home on July 21, 2024, with a head injury and signs of a struggle after he failed to return from an afternoon siesta. The 35-year-old father of one had lived in the coastal town on the Costa de Almeria for more than five years, where he managed a cannabis bar and built ties with the local community. Dryden had a daughter, Charley, who is now about six, and he had FaceTimed his mother hours before his death and had seen her two days earlier during a trip to Disneyland Paris as a birthday gift for Charley.
Dryden's home was found burgled and showed clear signs of a violent confrontation. Police said there were four-centimeter wounds above his right eye and a range of injuries to his legs, arms, head and neck. The house contained bloody handprints on walls and furniture, and items including his phone, wallet, designer sunglasses and car keys were missing. Surveillance footage captured two men running from the property with a bag, a detail that has haunted the family since the death.
![Brett Dryden's Mojácar home](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/09/24/14/97996477-0-image-m-18_1758720072423.jpg