The multiple femicide that horrified El Salvador

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Prosecutor’s Office and the Institute of Forensic Medicine of El Salvador have recovered part of the remains of 14 people murdered by ex-police officer Hugo Ernesto Osorio, to identify them through genetic tests.

Ex-police officer Hugo Ernesto Osorio, in whose home a clandestine cemetery was found and from which the remains of 14 victims have been exhumed so far, according to the authorities, was transferred to a maximum security prison in El Salvador, as the main suspect of multiple femicides.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Institute of Forensic Medicine of El Salvador exhumed part of the remains of 14 people murdered by the ex-police officer in order to identify them through genetic tests.

The remains were recovered in an urban area of Chalchuapa municipality, over 73 kilometers west of San Salvador, where ex-police officer Hugo Ernesto Osorio Chavez lived.

Forensic experts dressed in protective suits have been working at the site, assisted by inmates from a “trustee” program.

The house, which has been the focus of Salvadoran society’s attention in recent days, is located in an isolated area and near a large sugar cane crop. Authorities do not allow the press to come near the house and have extended the security perimeter.

In early May, 2 men and 2 women were murdered in this place, a crime attributed to Osorio and whose investigation led to the discovery of clandestine graves in his house.

Salvadoran Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro said that genetic tests will begin and that excavations will proceed in order to continue the search.

According to local media reports, Osorio declared out of court that over 40 remains of murdered people could be found in his house.

On the other hand, Villatoro denied in a TV interview that this case represents the pattern of disappearances in the country, given that “they have different aspects” and that “we are dealing with a psychopath whose aim was not to make people disappear, his aim was to satisfy his sexual urges and then, according to him, eliminate the evidence.”

The document “Disappearance of Persons in El Salvador,” by the Foundation of Studies for the Application of Law (FESPAD), states that during that time the National Civil Police (PNC) received 12,495 reports, but the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) data shows 22,307.

Israel Ticas, one of the most renowned forensic expert in the country working for the Attorney General’s Office, has pointed out on different occasions that if a person is missing for more than 8 days, there is a high probability that he or she was murdered and buried in a clandestine cemetery.

“In the case of Chalchuapa, 14 bodies have already been identified in the excavations,” said Villatoro in statements to journalists after participating in a national television talk show. There is speculation that there are more than 20 bodies at the site, but authorities have not confirmed this.

Villatoro explained that, in coordination with the state Institute of Forensic Medicine, “the bodies will be exhumed and the normal reconstruction will be conducted, and DNA tests will be taken from families in the area who are looking for their relatives.”

Osorio Chavez, 51 years old, was arrested for the murder of Mirna Lima and Jackeline Cristina Palomo Lima, mother and daughter of 57 and 26 years of age, respectively, but when investigating the place where the double femicide was committed, police discovered the existence of more graves.

Authorities issued arrest warrants for 10 other people linked to 9 femicides and 5 aggravated homicides. These people are allegedly linked to the ex-police officer. “The relationship with Hugo Osorio is obvious, because these people were practically all buried in his residence,” said prosecutor Gabriela Sagastume.

Source: Infobae