A British plumber is set to face trial after being charged with the murder of another Briton during a "psychotic episode" in Portugal last September.
Joshua Menkens, 28, from Hertfordshire, has been accused of stabbing a 37-year-old man to death during a festival he organised in an act of "exceptional violence", and using clothing and tree branches to hide his body in woodland near a commune in central Portugal.
Menkens had been placed in custody in the country the week after the alleged attack - and has now been charged with crimes including homicide and "desecration of a corpse".
Judicial police said the 28-year-old received psychiatric testing which revealed he was suffering from "psychosis" at the time; he was subsequently placed in a psychiatric hospital for the duration of his custody.
A group of festival attendees went to investigate in a local forest, where they found the crime scene
CMTV
Police said: "An indictment was filed by the Public Prosecutor's Office of the district of Leiria against Joshua James Menkens, for the crimes of homicide, possession of a prohibited weapon and desecration of a corpse.
"Joshua underwent psychiatric evaluation, with the result that at the time he suffered from a psychic anomaly: 'psychotic episode/psychosis'."
Some witnesses told police that Menkens had "taken hard drugs" during his "Mad Hatter's Tea Party" event - located in what the Times referred to as a "mecca for new age communities".
But investigators had not been able to find a motive for the death - sparking speculation about why the unnamed victim had been targeted.
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If Menkens is sentenced, UK Foreign Office rules say he can apply to be transferred to a prison back in the UK
GettyAt Menkens' festival, rain-induced poor ticket sales and cancellations had led to high tensions - and the 28-year-old organiser was said to have left the event "upset" to "spend some time alone".
Police statements following the attack said Menkens had allegedly confessed to the crimes to festival attendees - a group of whom went to investigate in a local forest, where they found the body.
A source told the Times that investigators had found the alleged murder weapon - a knife - cleaned of blood and placed back in a drawer in the commune's shared kitchen.
Authorities had been told the 37-year-old's death was linked to a social media 'suicide game' thought to have caused the deaths of a number of teenagers with depression, but soon ruled this out.
Investigations at the Libelinha Venture had unearthed a 'spin the wheel'-type game in a tent in which players would be told to kiss, get tattoos, swim naked, take dares or "break a rule".
Menkens’ father Troy, an Australian living in Watford, had called his son a "genuine, caring guy" at the time, and told the Times this week: "It's a very fraught time, a very slow legal system... My focus is on my son who I love to bits, and it wouldn't be right or fair to make any further comment at this stage with the upcoming trial."
While a date for the Briton's trial has not been set, suspects in Portugal can expect to wait between six and 18 months following an arrest for a court date.
If Menkens is sentenced, UK Foreign Office rules say he can apply to be transferred to a prison back in the UK.
