Overview

• A jury in the Cámara del Crimen de Deán Funes unanimously acquitted Gastón Márquez of murdering primary school teacher Patricia Montenegro and ordered his immediate release.
• Márquez was detained for 27 months on charges of aggravated homicide and robbery in connection with Montenegro’s death on October 6, 2022.
• The prosecution dropped a femicide charge in favor of alleging that Márquez staged a burglary, drowned Montenegro in her cistern and set a fire to mislead investigators.
• Autopsy results pointing to asphyxia by immersion, a crime-scene reconstruction and testimony from a tarot reader shaped the contested evidence in the trial.
• With the case returned to its starting point, investigators must now pursue new leads to resolve Montenegro’s unsolved murder.