Josh Menkens allegedly stabbed the victim to death at a festival he organised (Picture: Nick Edwards)
A 28-year-old British man faces trial in Portugal over the death of a guest at a mini-festival he organised in a remote woodland.
Local police say the victim, a 37-year-old man, was lured away from the festival site, stabbed several times with ‘exceptional violence’ and hidden under branches in a clearing in September.
Josh Menkens, who was holding the first edition of the ‘Mad Hatter’s Tea Party’ event, was arrested the following day and has now been indicted for homicide and ‘desecration of a corpse’.
He was initially remanded in custody in prison following the event, which took place in a new age commune in Pedrogao Grande.
The festival took place on a sustainability commune in a remote part of central Portugal (Picture: Nick Edwards)
Following a psychiatric evaluation, a local court requested he be moved to a psychiatric hospital.
Portuguese investigators told The Times that Menkens was found to have ‘suffered from a … psychotic episode [or] psychosis’.
They added that ‘some witnesses said in their testimony that Joshua had taken hard drugs during the event’.
Menkens pictured with his father, Troy Menkens, an Australian businessmen from Watford
The victim is not believed to have been known to Menkens, who is the son of an Australian businessman from Watford. Detectives have not speculated on the motive.
In a previous statement, the Policia Judiciaria said: ‘The defendant, a foreigner and organizer of a party on a rural property, took the victim to an isolated forest location where, armed with a knife, he attacked him with unusual violence, stabbing him in several parts of the body and causing his death.
‘After committing the homicide, the suspect hid the body using tree branches and pieces of clothing.’
The valley where the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party took place is owned by Brit Xavier Hancock and his Spanish partner Arantxa Atauri.
Menkens seen leaving a court in Portugal last September (Picture: Nick Edwards)
They launched the Libelinha Venture commune, which is focused on reforestation ‘to start their journey towards a sustainable lifestyle’.
There is no suggestion the couple were in any way involved in the stabbing in the early hours of Sunday morning.
A promo for the festival, which was due to run from September 20 to 24, described it as a ‘gathering filled with great music and fantastic souls’ and urged those planning to attend: ‘Show love, kindness, and respect to ourselves, each other, and the land.’
Tickets cost €50 (£43) and included four nights of camping on site, although guests were given the offer of upgrade ‘glamping’ options costing up to £120.
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