Mango heir was 'obsessed with money' and 'wanted his inheritance' as judge lays bare 'contradictions' that turned founder's son into murder suspect

By ADAM POGRUND, REPORTER and GERARD COUZENS Published: 23:51, 19 May 2026 | Updated: 23:51, 19 May 2026 The son of the billionaire founder of fashion giant Mango was obsessed with money and wanted his inheritance, according to the judge who made him a suspect in his father's murder trial. Jonathan Andic, 45, was arrested on suspicion of homicide on Tuesday and faces formal questioning 18 months after his father Isak Andic, 71, died when he plunged around 500ft down a cliff while the pair were hiking in the Monserrat mountain range, near Barcelona. Jonathan has always protested his innocence and insisted his father died by accident but police in Spain reopened the case in October and are treating it as a possible homicide.  And judge Raquel Nieto Galvan said she made him a suspect because of contradictions between his statements to court and what he said in the aftermath of his father's death. She also said he had a 'bad relationship' with his father and an 'obsession' with money which saw the father 'compelled' to accept financial requests 'in order to continue having a relationship with his son'. The judge also cited police evidence which suggested marks on the ground where Isak fell to his death did not correspond to a trip or slip.   In a 17-page legal document released to the public after the 45-year-old posted €1 million bail (£865,000), she claimed Jonathan had scoped out the mountain range before their walk.  The judge, who authorised Tuesday morning's surprise arrest, also revealed the son had claimed the old phone he was using when his father died had been stolen during a trip to Ecuador and he had erased its content when he switched terminals. Jonathan Andic arrives at a Barcelona court on Tuesday after being arrested on suspicion of killing his father Isak Andic (left) with Jonathan at Barcelona Fashion Week in 2012 In a lengthy explanation of what led her to place Jonathan under investigation, Mrs Nieto Galvan said: 'From the investigative procedures carried out, it is concluded that there are sufficient indications to consider that the death of Mr. I. A. may have been a non-accidental death, with active and premeditated involvement in the death of his father by Mr. J. A.'  Referencing previous statements Jonathan has given under oath, she continued: 'First of all, regarding the statements given by the investigated party, they contain contradictions in light of what he stated on December 14 and 31, 2024, and the statement given today before the court. 'In the first statement given on December 14, 2024, he stated that he moved about four or five meters ahead of his father, that his father stopped to take some photographs with his mobile phone and he did not have him in sight, and while he was walking he heard the sound of a stone falling, turned around and only saw a body rolling among the bushes, and heard a loud impact and a groan of pain from his father. 'In the second statement given on December 31, 2025, he stated that they had the habit of talking while they walked together. That he had taken that path about two weeks before the accident. That the father used the phone at the beginning of the journey, but he never saw him using the mobile phone. 'In this second statement, he declared that the relationship with his father was very good, without disagreements. 'He stated that in 2015 he assumed greater responsibility in the company, and that later the father resumed managing the company, but that this did not entail any professional, personal, or family problems. 'From the extraction of the data from Mr I. A.'s mobile phone, it can be seen that he only used the phone at the beginning of the route, when he took some photos and a video. 'Furthermore, according to the autopsy performed on the deceased, the mobile phone was found in the front pocket of his trousers, and therefore he had not used the phone at the scene of the events. 'Regarding the fact that he could not see clearly and that he saw a shape, it is unlikely that, if they were walking together, he would not have seen him fall. Helicopters attempt to recover the businessman's body after the incident in December 2024 Isak, who died after falling from a cliff in 2024,  pictured with Kate Moss and Terry Richardson 'He stated that he had made the same journey about two weeks earlier, and from the location data of the vehicle belonging to Mr. J.A, it has been established that he went to the scene on December 12, 2024, December 8, 2024 and December 10, 2024, contradicting his statement in which he said he had gone fifteen days earlier.' The judge also said police experts who had photographed the spot near the Collbato Caves where Mr Andic fell to his death on December 14, 2024 and conducted simulations had concluded the 'rubbing action' left on the ground by the sole of the dead man's trainers 'had to be performed at least four times in both directions' to achieve a similar footprint. She explained, saying the route the two men walked the day of Mr Andic's death wasn't a difficult one: 'The mountain police state the action had to be carried out deliberately, applying pressure on the ground, and said mark could not have been made accidentally.' She added: 'The mountain unit report explains that after repeating four times the action of generating the footprint by rubbing strongly with the sole of the sneakers, it is concluded that by performing a single forward rubbing motion simulating a slip, it is not possible to generate a footprint like the one located on the day of the events.' Other 'contradictions' in Jonathan's version of events were also highlighted in the court document, which is always formulated by a judge in Spain to explain prison remand or bail release decisions. These documents are rarely put together with such detail or officially released to the press in Spain. The judge said of the 999 calls made by Jonathan: 'Two calls were recorded, one at 12:36pm and another at 13:13pm, in which the suspect told the operator that his father had fallen, that he believed he had fallen down a ravine in Montserrat. 'Subsequently, he received a call from the emergency nurse, to whom he changed his version and stated that he was walking ahead, and suddenly heard the sound of stones and, when he turned around, he saw his father screaming and falling. 'This differs from the statement given to the regional Mossos d'Esquadra police, where he states that 'I was walking ahead of my father, and I saw a body rolling among the bushes, and within a few seconds I heard a loud impact and a groan of pain from my father.' Jonathan has always protested his innocence and insisted his father died by accident but police in Spain reopened the case in October and are treating it as a possible homicide The judge compared Isak's death plunge to the actions of someone who had thrown himself feet-first down a toboggan slide, saying all the wounds he had suffered were on his right side and he had no injuries to the palms of his hands. She also said Whatsapp messages beween the father and son show the relationship was 'poor' because of Jonathan's obsession with money. She continued: 'Given this accumulation of evidence, Mr. J A. could be implicated in the death of his father, Mr I. A' Homicide can be punished by a prison sentence of between 10 and 15 years in Spain. Jonathan has not been formally charged yet but has been placed under official investigation   The Catalan High Court of Justice said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon: 'The judge of Court of First Instance and Investigation Section 5 of Martorell today received a detainee in connection with the death of his father, founder of a fashion company. 'The judge ordered provisional detention, avoidable upon payment of bail set at €1m. The bail has already been posted. 'In addition, she ordered, as precautionary measures, the surrender of his passport, a ban on leaving the country, and weekly appearances before the court. 'The case, which is no longer under judicial secrecy, is being investigated as a crime of homicide. 'The man under investigation answered questions from his lawyer.' Mr Andic has always insisted his dad's death was an accident. Shortly after his arrest at home this morning, more than a year after the court investigation into the Mango founder's death had been reopened after being initially archived, his family issued a statement which said: 'Jonathan Andic is currently testifying as part of the proceedings regarding the accident of December 14, 2024. 'At this time we cannot add much more because the case is under judicial secrecy. The collaboration has been and will continue to be maximum within the framework of these proceedings.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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