Sixth arrest in brutal triple murder case, suspects questioned

Police have arrested a sixth person in connection with the brutal triple murder of three young females in Buenos Aires Province last week.

Harrowing details of the killings, which are allegedly linked to drug-trafficking, have shocked Argentina and highlighted concerns about the penetration of narco gangs in impoverished neighbourhoods.

The latest suspect to be detained is Ariel Giménez, a 29-year-old man accused of being hired by a criminal gang to dig the pit where the three women were buried after being tortured and dismembered, according to police.

The arrest took place on Saturday night in Florencio Varela, on the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires – the same area where the house containing the women’s bodies was discovered last Wednesday.

On Saturday, the families of the victims – cousins Morena Verdi and Brenda del Castillo, both aged 20, and 15-year-old Lara Gutiérrez – marched alongside thousands of people in the capital to demand justice and a swift resolution of the case, which police are investigating as a drug-related revenge killing.

The three victims were last seen on Friday, September 17, when they voluntarily got into a vehicle that took them to the house in Florencio Varela where they were later tortured.

According to Buenos Aires Province Security Minister Javier Alonso, the murders were live-streamed on social media to a closed group of 45 people as a “warning” after a suspected theft of drugs.

Those detained face charges of “aggravated homicide with premeditation,” according to Gonzalo Fuenzalida, a lawyer representing the youngest victim and her family.

Police are still searching for the alleged mastermind behind the killings: Tony Janzen Valverde Victoriano, a 20-year-old Peruvian national whose name and image have been released by authorities.

Known as “Pequeño J” (“Little J”), he is said to be a drug dealer operating out of Villa Zavaleta, an impoverished neighbourhood in the south of the City.

Prosecutor Adrián Arribas has issued both national and international warrants for his arrest.

Lázaro Víctor Sotacuro, one of the suspects who is accused of providing logistical support for the crime by driving the vehicle in which they travelled, was captured last week in Villazón, Bolivia, close to the border with Argentina. He had fled there shortly after the killings.

Another 23-year-old man, identified as the alleged “right-hand man” of “Pequeño J” is also being sought by authorities.

All three victims live in impoverished areas and are believed to have been lured by their killers with a false promise of sex work, according to press reports citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the investigation.

Sotacuro and Giménez are due to be questioned later by the courts today.

– TIMES/AFP/NA