Accused in fatal Barracas boarding house fire attack declines to testify

The trial of a man accused of killing three women and seriously injuring a fourth in a deadly arson attack at a Barracas boarding house opened Monday, two years after the tragedy shocked the capital and prompted protests over anti-LGBTQ+ violence.

Justo Fernando Barrientos, 70, spoke only to confirm his name and personal details at the opening hearing. He then declined to testify further before Criminal and Correctional Court No. 5 in Buenos Aires City, where he is facing charges of triple aggravated homicide and attempted homicide.

Prosecutors allege the crimes were motivated by hatred towards the victims’ gender and sexual orientation and carried out with premeditation and extreme cruelty.

Barrientos, who is being held at Ezeiza Prison, appeared before judges Enrique Gamboa, Fátima Ángela Ruiz López and Adrián Pérez Lance, confirming his personal details.

He said he was born in Tucumán Province in February 1956, was the third of seven siblings and moved to the federal capital at the age of 26.

However, after being informed by the judges that he could testify whenever he wished during the proceedings, Barrientos chose to remain silent, reported local media.

The attack allegedly took place during the night of May 5 and early May 6, 2024, at a boarding house in the Barracas neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, where two couples shared a room. 

According to the indictment, Barrientos threw a Molotov cocktail into the victims’ bedroom before attacking them again as they attempted to extinguish the flames in a communal shower area.

The women suffered severe burns immediately. Prosecutors allege the attacker also beat one of the victims. 

Victims Pamela Cobbas, Mercedes Roxana Figueroa and Andrea Amarante later died of their injuries. The fourth victim, Sofía Castro Riglos, survived after weeks of treatment at a specialist burns unit in the capital.

Court officials said two police officers who first responded to the scene are expected to testify at the next hearing on May 22. Judges also authorised limited broadcast coverage of future witness testimony following a request from lawyers representing Castro Riglos and Amarante’s family.

Witnesses and fellow residents at the boarding house previously told local media that Barrientos had repeatedly harassed the women and used derogatory slurs against them before the attack.

The case triggered vigils and demonstrations in Buenos Aires, with activists and LGBTQ+ organisations demanding justice and warning of rising hate speech in public discourse under President Javier Milei’s government.

Hundreds of protesters marched through Barracas in the days after the attack. Rights groups later described the assault as one of Argentina’s worst anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes in recent years.

– TIMES/NA/PERFIL