The family’s lawyer in Spain told the BBC he had never seen a case like this before.

“I’ve never seen a case… with a whole package of circumstances and such a delay,” said Jaime Campaner. “I’ve never seen it and I hope I never see it again.”

He said he had been filing motion after motion to speed up the process, and said the Spanish Civil Guard – the Guardia Civil – was to blame for the delay.

The Guardia Civil told the BBC the case was before the court and it had no further comment to make.

“The Spanish investigation has been very slow,” Campaner added. “And this is not common in a city like Palma, where investigations don’t take so long.”

He said the investigating judge in Spain would now consider the new evidence, and decide whether to proceed as a criminal case or shelve it.

“We believe this could be key evidence. We are not aware of the conclusions yet but it might end in results [for] this case,” he said.

They are yet to be given a date for a court hearing but Campaner estimates the investigating stage would conclude by the end of the year, with a prospective court case starting next year.

“We all want to get this case closed and see some justice,” said White.

“We’re hoping that at some point in this chapter, we can close the door on this – and we can close the door on this pain.”