Police in Argentina have confirmed the arrest of a seventh suspect in the gruesome murder of three young women last week in Florencio Varela
The bodies of Morena Verdi and Brenda del Castillo, cousins aged 20, and 15-year-old Lara Gutiérrez were found buried Wednesday in the yard of a house in the southern suburb of Buenos Aires, five days after they went missing.
The crime, which investigators tied to drug gangs, was allegedly streamed live on Instagram to a closed group of 45 people as a “warning” after a suspected theft of drugs, officials have said.
Police announced Monday the arrest of a young woman following an interview she gave to a local television station.
The suspect, Florencia Ibáñez, was reportedly seen in a car belonging to her uncle Víctor Sotacuro, who was arrested last Friday in Villazón, Bolivia, near the Argentine border, on suspicion of providing logistical support for transporting the young victims.
Ibáñez said in the interview that she has no connection to the crime. Minutes later, the presenter announced: “The City Police have arrived at [the channel] A24 to arrest Florencia Ibáñez.”
Police sources confirmed that the Buenos Aires Province Police “ requested the assistance of the City Police in the arrest of Florencia, the niece of one of those detained for the triple murder.”
Ibáñez will testify on Tuesday before the prosecutor in the case, her lawyer told local media.
According to authorities, the man suspected of ordering the massacre is a 20-year-old Peruvian drug trafficker nicknamed "Pequeño J," who was active in the Villa 21-24 barrio in Buenos Aires. An international arrest warrant has been issued for him.
His alleged lieutenant, aged 23, is also being sought.
–TIMES/AFP
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