Jury trial into death of Cecilia Strzyzowski: Six of the seven accused found guilty

A jury in Resistencia has found six of the seven people accused in the high-profile femicide of 28-year-old Cecilia Strzyzowski guilty, including the leading members of the so-called ‘Sena Clan,’ whose political influence in Chaco has long loomed large. 

The verdict comes nearly two-and-a-half years after the young woman vanished.

Strzyzowski disappeared on June 2, 2023 in the northern province after being seen on security footage entering the home of her partner’s parents in Resistencia.

Although her body has never been recovered, investigators allege she was killed at the residence, then taken to the Sena family’s pig farm, set alight and her remains dispersed across the local neighbourhood.

Prosecutors argued in court that the crime was premeditated, with César Sena – Strzyzowski’s former partner – perpetrating the killing, and his parents, powerful local picket-leader Emerenciano Sena and politician Marcela Acuña, playing “necessary” roles in both the murder and the subsequent cover-up.

Prosecutors alleged that César lured Cecilia to the house by telling her they were about to leave on a trip to Ushuaia, a journey prosecutors said was fabricated.

Investigators were unable to establish the exact mechanism of the killing, but they pointed to scratch marks on César’s neck and other indications of a violent struggle, consistent with strangulation and possible blows with a blunt object.

Prosecutors also said the young man acted under the strong emotional and financial control of his parents.

The case attracted nationwide attention not only for the brutality of the crime, but for its deep political reverberations in Chaco. The fallout from Strzyzowski’s death included the collapse of the Sena family’s network of influence and the ejection, two years ago, of ex-provincial governor Jorge Capitanich from office.

The couple were long-time allies of Capitanich, the Peronist ex-governor of Chaco who once served as national Cabinet chief in former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s government. 

The trial laid bare the clan’s far-reaching patronage structure and the political protection that had shielded them for years.

Verdicts

On Saturday, a citizens’ jury in Resistencia handed down guilty verdicts for aggravated homicide against the three, with César as the material author and his parents as primary participants.

Among the co-defendants, Gustavo Obregón and Fabiana González were found guilty of aggravated concealment, while Gustavo Melgarejo was convicted of simple concealment.

One of the accused, Griselda Reynoso, was acquitted.

A sentencing hearing (cesura) will be held soon, where the judge will determine the length and terms of their punishment. Life sentences are anticipated for the three central defendants.

Provincial Security Minister Hugo Matkovich told local media that the ruling was “a historic breakthrough for Chaco.”

Matkovich said that the verdict “puts an end to 16 years of impunity and corruption” and stressed that a ruling of this nature “would have been impossible with Jorge Capitanich in power.”

Speaking to Radio Rivadavia, Matkovich said the sentences represent “the end of a system based on coercion, clientelism and political protection,” which, he said, allowed the Sena clan to consolidate its economic and territorial power in the region.

National Security Minister Patricia Bullrich welcomed the convictions. “Justice has been served. And justice, when it comes, must be clear and exemplary,” said the official in response to the court’s verdict.

The minister also highlighted the brutality of the crime: “Cecilia Strzyzowski was murdered and burned for hours. They believed that political protection and the silence of a certain ‘feminism’ would save them.”

Bullrich recalled a visit to the Sena family's domain. “I was in the Sena neighbourhood. Feudal lords, owners of the territory and of people’s lives. That’s how it felt,” she said.
 

– TIMES/NA/PERFIL