The full horrific story of how a ‘British’ businessman was dragged from a police station by an angry baying mob in Ecuador and burned alive can be told for the first time by MailOnline.
The Briton, named locally as Michael Hann, was lynched by angry locals determined for their own justice after the 34-year-old was arrested for allegedly shooting dead his long-term friend and business partner Rodrigo Chavez.
The circumstances surrounding the grisly death of Mr Hann, who according to locals spoke with a British accent, made headlines around the world, but the motive for the shooting and the subsequent storming of a police station has remained a mystery until now.
The Foreign Office said it is urgently working with local authorities and forensic officers in Ecuador to confirm Mr Hann’s identity.
Now MailOnline can reveal the events leading up to Mr Hann’s brutal killing.
According to sources close to the ongoing investigation, the feud between Mr Hann and his business partner began when the travel company they ran organising tours for holidaymakers ran into financial difficulties.
As the men struggled to keep the business going, Mr Chavez accused Mr Hann of being deceitful and taking money from customers without putting it through the business accounts – and cutting him out of the profits.
In the early hours of Sunday, after both men had been out partying and were fuelled by alcohol, their ongoing tensions finally came to a head.
