Overview

• Police identified 55-year-old Gustavo “Pino” Brondino as the sole detainee; he refused to testify and was ordered into 90 days of preventive detention.
• Preliminary autopsy findings reported by prosecutor Emilce Reynoso state Mendieta died from a firearm wound.
• Her body was recovered Tuesday from a roughly 10-meter-deep aljibe in a rural area after a search effort involving more than 130 personnel.
• Investigators say the suspect attempted to manipulate or fire a weapon during an operation and was subsequently detained.
• Searches linked to the suspect yielded two cellphones, two carbines and a pickup truck for examination, while the homicide weapon and the victim’s phone are still being sought alongside CCTV and call-record reviews.