Nathan Osman, from Pontypridd, South Wales, went missing on the first day of a lads’ trip to Benidorm and was found dead at the bottom of a cliff. His family is fighting for answers
Devoted dad Nathan Osman went missing in Benidorm last year and now thanks to his family and friends, police in Spain have opened a murder inquiry after first ruling his death as an accident.
The respected family man from Pontypridd in South Wales, was on a long weekend break with friends last September, on his first ever lads holiday but less than 24 hours after arriving in the Spanish party town he was found dead at the bottom of 650ft cliff on the outskirts of the resort.
Spanish authorities ruled 30-year-old Nathan’s death was an accident or that he had possibly taken his own life, but his family immediately believed there was foul play. Now they have finally won their battle to have an investigation into his death reopened – and now a murder inquiry has been launched.
READ MORE: Brit dad’s death in Benidorm after 600ft fall ‘was likely MURDER’, cops say
How did his family investigate his death?
Nathan’s brother Lee Evans and sister Alannah Hughes turned detective and trawled through CCTV evidence, gathered witness statements and accessed phone and bank records in a bid to force police to reopen their investigation.
They found haunting CCTV which shows Nathan walking along Benidorm’s beachfront alone at night, he appears to be talking on a mobile phone that he is holding out in front of him, but he was not pictured again.
What did Nathan do on the night he disappeared?
After drinking with friends on September 27, 2024, the tired father of four walked back to his hotel alone to sleep. He was spotted on CCTV walking along the promenade.
The next morning, his bed had not been slept in, and an off-duty police officer found his body, at the foot of a remote cliff in Benidorm’s outskirts, later the same day.
Lee said his brother had no reason to do the hour-long walk to wear he was found, it was in the opposite direction to his hotel and he was alone. He instead believes his brother was taken to the cliff, either by taxi or against his will.
The last sighting of Nathan, according to his brother, was him walking ‘very calm and collected’ following directions on his phone. He was found a 50-minute walk away from where he was last seen on CCTV.
Lee told The Mirror: “There is one road up so we believe he must have been taken. It is inaccessible by foot. To walk up that hill would be at least 90 minutes and it is a rural area.”
Why do Nathan’s family believe he was murdered?
Amongst their evidence was their suspicion that Nathan’s injuries pointed to an attack before his fall and that his phone had been smashed and wallet was missing.
He said they believed injuries had been caused “by an altercation at some point” and not just by the fall.
Lee said what aroused the family’s suspicions further was that they later learned two attempted purchases had been made on Nathan’s bank card, the morning after he had died.
Lee said: “That was at a place nine minutes drive away from the place he was found at the bottom of a 500ft cliff. We believe someone has disposed of his body there.
“There’s a person or persons who are out there who are responsible for taking him up there and for his death.”
What happened when the family met police?
Lee, 39, told The Mirror: “We met the Spanish authorities to discuss the case because we were not happy with the police report and believed there were discrepancies and a lack of investigation.”
Lee and sister Alannah played police a timeline they had established using CCTV from local businesses and records from Nathan’s phone including a FaceTime call to his friends where he suggested to them he was lost.
They also played the judge a compilation video of Nathan playing with his four children to show he was a loving and caring father.
Lee added: “He wasn’t your typical Brit abroad. He didn’t get rowdy. He was wise, he was 30-years-old with four kids and very respectable. That’s why this was completely out of the blue.”
“My way of grieving is to keep pursuing what has really happened because I know my brother would do the same for me and I’m doing it for every other family out there. We want to say to his kids that we have tried everything out there to get answers.”
After pleading their case to Spanish police and prosecutors in March, a judge ruled a homicide investigation should now begin.