Developing case

New data on Isak Andic's phone casts doubt on one theory behind his death


Police officers didn't find supporting evidence of health issues that could have prompted Andic's fatal fall in Montserrat


Isak Andic, CEO of MANGO. | Location: Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.  (Photo by Dusko Despotovic/Corbis via Getty Images)© Corbis via Getty Images
Maria LoretoSenior Writer
SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 11:27 AM EDT

Twenty-one months after Isak Andic's death, the investigation into what killed the Mango founder is still turning up new leads. Catalonia's regional police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra, has obtained new information after expanding its analysis of Andic's cell phone to cover the full twelve months before his death on December 14, 2024. 

Isak Andic, Kate Moss and Carolina Herrera at the 4th Mango Fashion Awards in 2012© Europa Press via Getty Images
Isak Andic, Kate Moss and Carolina Herrera at the 4th Mango Fashion Awards in 2012

According to sources close to the investigation cited by El Periódico, the data supports the conclusion that Andic was in good health, and that a fall he suffered on February 20, 2024, at the Barcelona headquarters of Mutua Universal, was not caused by any physical ailment.

A second fall, ten months before his death

The legal defense of Jonathan Andic, who stands accused of his father's homicide, has argued that the Mutua Universal incident and the fatal fall Isak Andic suffered into a ravine while hiking with his son on the Collbató trail in Montserrat share "similarities," and that both could be explained by osteoarthritis their experts say the businessman had in both knees.

An expert report submitted by attorney Cristóbal Martell described "a fall pattern characterized by sudden loss of balance, progressive forward tilt, an ineffective stepping strategy, absence of the parachute reflex, and lateral drift to the right". It argued that "the hypothesis that an identical fall on the mountain would have produced the same injuries Isak Andic suffered is empirically supported."

Jonathan Andic arrested in connection with the death of his father, Mango founder Isak Andic
Isak Andic, the founder of Mango, died in December 2024

Catalan police, however, see the two episodes as unrelated. A full extraction of the phone's data, carried out by the Martorell Investigation Unit, reportedly found "no relevance whatsoever in the fall during the lunch at Mutua Universal in Barcelona" given that the businessman "was in perfect health." Andic's inner circle had reiterated this information, saying that the Mango founder was in "good health."

To settle the question, the judge overseeing the case, Raquel Nieto, authorized an expanded extraction of the phone's data in July, specifically to look for evidence such as conversations, messages, or other material related to Andic's health that might help determine whether any physical problems he had played a role in either fall. 

Until then, the Mossos had only reviewed the six months leading up to his death. At the same time, at the request of the public prosecutor's office, the judge requested Andic's "medical, treatment, and pharmacological history" from the Institut Català de la Salut, Catalonia's public health institute, to verify whether he had a degree of osteoarthritis consistent with the accidental theory his son's defense maintains.

Within that framework, the defense's report technically reconstructed the February 20, 2024 fall, which happened during a lunch with business associates at Mutua Universal, drawing on security camera footage and a video of the moment. Experts concluded that both falls "shared similarities" and that neither had caused palm injuries — a detail they say reinforces the theory that Isak Andic's death was a tragic accident rather than anything else.

Isak Andic's eldest son, Jonathan Andic arrives at the funeral chapel of the founder of Mango, Isak Andic, at the Tanatori Les Corts, on 16 December, 2024 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.© Anadolu via Getty Images
Isak Andic's eldest son, Jonathan Andic, arriving at the funeral chapel for his father's ceremony

Witnesses still to testify

Several loose ends remain. Some witnesses due to testify before the judge over the summer have yet to do so, including Toni Ruiz, Mango's CEO, and the interpreter who formerly worked as an assistant to therapist Julia Lüderwaldt. 

For now, investigators maintain that the new material pulled from the phone "would support the hypothesis that the Collbató fall was intentional" — information that's directly at odds with the defense's position, which continues to argue that Isak Andic's death was a fatal accident brought on by his health.

Jonathan Andic, the son of the founder of Mango, testifies before the Juzgado de Instruccion 5 de Martorell, on 19 May, 2026 in Martorell, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. © Europa Press via Getty Images
Jonathan Andic, the son of the founder of Mango, testifies before the Juzgado de Instruccion 5 de Martorell, on 19 May, 2026