Man murdered his ex-partner and then committed suicide; attack was observed by their eldest son

portoviejo

A woman was murdered by her ex-partner from whom she had separated three months ago and then the perpetrator decided to end her life with the same knife he used to attack the mother of his four children.

The femicide and subsequent suicide occurred around 9:30 p.m. on Friday, December 30, in the La Balsa community, belonging to the Abdón Calderón parish, about 20 kilometers east of Portoviejo.

As Betty Lorena Morales Mendoza, 36, the victim was identified. The alleged perpetrator was identified as Darío Barreiro, who worked as a cleaning assistant at the Rocafuerte canton hospital.

The murder of the woman and subsequent suicide of the man was witnessed by the eldest son of this couple, aged 16, according to the relatives of the victims. This incident caused four minors to become orphans.

Presumed femicide and subsequent suicide were registered in Pichincha, in the north of Manabí

Despite the separation, both lived in very close homes in the La Balsa community. Patricio Almendáriz, commander of Police Subzone 13 in Manabí, indicated that the couple had some discussions after the separation.

“The relatives refer that, at night, the couple had an argument, one of the children had observed the commission of this event, especially when the father proceeds to inflict several wounds with a knife and later loses his life in the The same place where he had victimized his ex-partner,” declared the police chief.

Man would have murdered his ex-spouse in front of his five-year-old daughter, then ended his life

According to statistics from the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE), from February 6 to December 11, 2022, 32 women died violently in Manabí.

Of the 32 violent deaths against women, only two were resolved, one has a sentence and one more has a conviction. (YO)