Overview
- Prosecutor Eduardo Villalba asked the appeals court to annul the ruling that cleared trucker Héctor Romero and to restart the homicide investigation into María Cash.
- He presented phone interceptions he described as decisive, including Romero instructing a witness what to say, a brother referencing a 13‑year problem, and audios that appear to implicate Romero.
- Villalba alleged serious inconsistencies between Romero’s written statement and his recorded interrogation and accused defense lawyers Carlos and Hugo Cuellar and employer Miguel Segura of false declarations and cover‑up.
- He criticized earlier forensic work as flawed, citing a reconstruction conducted with a driver friendly to the accused and disputed canine indications, and he requested transferring the case file while keeping Judge Mariela Giménez on the investigation.
- The victims’ representative supported revoking the dismissal as the defense opposed, and the appeals chamber extended deadlines to issue a decision later in 2025, with witness René “Tucho” Torres’s account remaining central to identifying the truck.