Global Courant 2023-05-16 00:24:26
A 16-year-old teenager was shot to death by her 22-year-old boyfriend, who then tried to commit suicide: he shot himself in the head. He was left brain dead, hospitalized in a coma.
The victim’s mother said that the young man had already been arrested for a previous attack and that acts of violence were frequent. “This could have been prevented,” she said.
The femicide was committed this Sunday night in the city of Fernández, in a house in the Pozo Suni area, a rural area located about 45 kilometers from the capital of Santiago del Estero.
Judicial sources detailed that the young people had maintained a relationship with several twists and turns, “a toxic relationship,” according to the girl’s mother.
Agustina Ibáñez was 16 years old. She was killed by her 22-year-old boyfriend with a shot to the head. Photo: Facebook
The femicide had already been denounced by the victim’s mother when two years ago he had threatened the teenager with a firearm: he was detained for seven months for that reason. And although by then the couple had distanced themselves, in recent months the twists and turns returned.
The femicide occurred at 11:45 p.m. in a house located in a rural area, close to the capital of Santiago. There, Gustavo Santillán shot and killed his girlfriend, Agustina Ibáñez.
The prosecutor of the Gender and Intrafamily Violence Unit of La Banda, María del Pilar Gallo, provided details of the horror: “The place where the femicide was committed was a room. There was only one room on land belonging to the family of the girl that was under construction, a hilly area,” he described.
And he added: “There were no neighbors, nor adjoining; nor in front, so we have not been able to interview anyone from the area,” explained the prosecutor.
The prosecution paid attention to the last message from the minor that gave indications of a break with Santillán.
In the last WhatsApp status of the young woman’s cell phone on Sunday there was a photo of the couple with the following text: “You were my whole life, but fate led us to be happy, far away. We couldn’t get where we wanted anymore. I love you pasty.”
The femicide was discovered after the young man’s mother approached the police station to report that her son had been “having problems with his partner Agustina” and gave the address of where he could be: the place.
The Emergency Corps transfers Santillán to the hospital after the suicide attempt. Photo: The Liberal
When the police arrived at the scene, they found the young woman murdered and Santillán seriously wounded with a bullet to the head. He was taken by ambulance to the Banda Health Center, where he was admitted in serious condition.
Santillán’s medical report is categorical: brain death. And, for these hours he is hospitalized in intensive care in a coma.
Regarding the femicide, the spokespersons reported that it was committed with a 32-caliber revolver, which was seized by order of the prosecutor to be subjected to expert opinions. At the same time, Gallo is also awaiting the result of the autopsy on the young woman’s body, who initially would have received a single bullet wound to her head.
a violent relationship
Santillán and Agustina had ended their relationship two years ago, when in 2021 the mother of the minor denounced him for having threatened the adolescent with a firearm.
After seven months in detention, Santillán was released with restraint measures for the minor. However, already hidden, the couple continued to see each other.
After several months of this situation, the young man and the adolescent “bleached” that they resumed the relationship.
“Agustina denied the relationship, she was not in a relationship with him, I think she kept seeing him because she was afraid, he threatened her,” said Verónica Orellana, the victim’s mother.
In a conversation with Radio Panorama, Agustina’s mother said that Santillán “was a very violent person” and that when he was denounced for the threat with a firearm, he had previously assaulted her daughter.
“Santillán tried to hang her three times and on a fourth he pointed the same revolver with which he killed her now. This could have been avoided,” he lamented.
