British man facing trial over the death of a bouncer at TOWIE star’s Spanish restaurant goes on the run

A British man charged over the death of a bouncer at former TOWIE star Elliot Wright’s Spanish restaurant has escaped.

An arrest warrant has been issued for 35-year-old Harry Saunders, who disappeared after being released on bail during a court-led manslaughter investigation into the incident that took place in Olivia’s La Cala, near Fuengirola.

Bouncer Jose Rafael Pisani Pardo died in hospital on April 16, 2023, following a fight that broke out at the popular Costa del Sol restaurant just a few hours earlier.

Police arrested the Briton accused of killing himself in Marbella after receiving CCTV footage from Wright’s celebrity hangout; It allegedly showed him punching Wright. bodybuilder and personal trainer.

Romina Acuna, the Chilean-born 33-year-old widow of Pardo, who tragically died by falling from her fifth-floor house in Calahonda in October 2023, stated that she called him half an hour before the incident after his death and said that she was concerned about the number of drunk customers in the restaurant.

The couple had married just five months earlier in a lavish ceremony in Las Vegas and were planning to have a child and start a new life together selling sports equipment in the Canary Islands.

Spanish prosecutors today confirmed they are seeking a four-year prison sentence for the missing-listed British man, whose full name is Harry James George Saunders.

Court sources confirmed an arrest warrant had been issued for Saunders after he failed to comply with bail conditions, and said Saunders’ whereabouts were ‘unknown’ and he was now a fugitive from justice.

Former TOWIE star Elliott Wright and wife Sadie photographed at the restaurant in 2018

A lawsuit was filed against him for murder and injury.

The three-page written pre-trial indictment published by prosecutors states: ‘During the fight, the defendant, who was trying to restrain the injured person who was working as a security guard at the workplace, got away from him and punched him hard in the face, with the intention of damaging his physical health and disregarding the possible consequences, which caused the victim to fall back and hit his head on the ground.’

Venezuelan-born Pardo’s injuries included a subarachnoid hemorrhage and multiple facial fractures.

He died in hospital approximately 12 hours after the attack, suffering from a traumatic brain injury resulting from the early hours incident.

Saunders faces a possible four-year prison sentence if convicted, as well as a six-figure restitution payment if convicted; prosecutors are demanding he give £200,000 to Pardo’s loved ones.

It was not immediately clear this morning whether a trial date had been set.

Father-of-five Wright closed his restaurant in the La Cala de Mijas resort for two days after Jose’s death, and said in a statement posted on his restaurant’s Instagram site: ‘We are heartbroken and have closed the restaurant today and tomorrow out of respect.

‘We are supporting our staff and family as we await further investigation news.’

In an emotional social media post after their marriage, Acuna described her new fitness fanatic husband as the ‘love of my life’ and posed for a photo before getting into a white Limo.

He moved from his previous base in Barcelona to Mijas on the Costa del Sol at the beginning of 2021, and the couple enjoyed a holiday together in Chile before tying the knot in Vegas.

Jose apparently worked as a doorman at Olivia’s La Cala for about two years before his death.

Spanish police released footage in April 2023 showing the dramatic moment they detained suspect Saunders.

Jose Rafael Pisano Pardo (pictured left) was Olivia’s doorman before he died

Locals targeted former TOWIE star Elliott Wright’s Spanish restaurant with graffiti calling him a ‘murderer’, two days after the doorman was killed while trying to break up a fight

The arrest was made with the help of an elite Civil Guard unit called GAR, a rapid action group.

It was later revealed that the same Briton was one of six men detained in early February that year following a shooting at Turtle Lake near Marbella on September 30, 2022.

The 24-year-old man, who was shot in the leg while fishing with two friends, was taken to hospital but survived.

Saunders was granted bail by the judge after the initial arrest and it was not clear this morning whether he had also been charged in connection with this separate matter.

At the start of the year, Wright announced that another former TOWIE star, James Argent, was moving to Spain, revealing she was backtracking from an earlier decision to sell her swanky restaurant so she could move back to the UK to be with her two eldest children.

In an update to fans on social media at the end of January, she said: ‘So 2026 is here and most of you thought I would have sold Olivia’s La Cala by now.

‘After receiving the auction bids on December 5th and taking the time to analyze them properly, speaking to potential buyers and reviewing the attached conditions, I decided to keep Olivia’s.

‘Some of the offers were not strong enough and there were some that came with conditions that made the sale pointless. I always said I would only sell if I got the right price and the right conditions, but that wasn’t the case.

‘So… I’m staying. Olivia stays. We are planning a bigger and better 2026 season.

We are reopening on February 14, Valentine’s Day. All our summer parties are booked and ready

‘ARG is loving life – not only is she doing legendary Thursday summer nights, she’s also moving to Spain and having Sunday Lunch

‘There are so many exciting things ahead… so let’s move on to 2026, in true Olivia La Cala style.’