Overview
- The cesura hearing began in Resistencia to determine sentences, a technical phase led by Judge Dolly Fernández expected to run through the week.
- Defense teams for César Sena, Emerenciano Sena and Marcela Acuña asked to nullify the jury’s verdict, alleging external pressure and procedural flaws, which prosecutors and the family’s lawyers opposed.
- The court ordered a recess until Thursday morning after a tense opening session, with some defense interventions made remotely and Emerenciano Sena absent from the courtroom.
- By law, life imprisonment is the only possible penalty for the three principal defendants, while José Gustavo Obregón and Fabiana González await sentences for aggravated cover‑up and Gustavo Melgarejo was convicted of simple cover‑up and is already free.
- Parties may present limited additional evidence on aggravating or mitigating circumstances in this phase, and any sentences can be appealed to higher courts.