Lisbeth Baquerizo case, a year of pain and frustration for her family. What progress was made in this process?

Tuesday, December 21, marked one year since the death of Lisbeth Baquerizo and her parents continue to demand justice.

That day, Virginia Muñoz and Mario Baquerizo, Liss’s parents, went to a mass at La Merced church and then arrived outside the Albán Borja Judicial Complex with their youngest daughter and a few relatives.

With signs in hand they began to shout “justice for Lisbeth.” They have done so dozens of times, but that Tuesday it was especially painful for Virginia to scream and tell her story. They remember the first year of the crime of their daughter, the 30-year-old girl who on December 21, 2020 was murdered in Puerto Azul, inside the house where she lived with Luis H., her husband.

The trial began against Lisbeth Baquerizo’s mother-in-law and a doctor for allegedly covering up the femicide in Puerto Azul

Although the crime was initially attempted to pass off as an accident, by saying that Lisbeth had fallen down the stairs, days later it was discovered that the woman had been killed with blows to the head and that those wounds had been sealed with glue.

The case shocked a year ago when details were revealed of how the widower and his family had allegedly recreated a false scene to convince Lisbeth’s parents that death was due to a fall and to bury her as quickly as possible.

The widower has been a fugitive since December last year, his father and brother are also wanted by the Police for allegedly covering up the femicide. While they are with precautionary measures Lisbeth’s mother-in-law and the doctor who provided a death certificate in which he assured that the woman had died of a heart attack derived from a kidney problem.

In the case there are two open processes: one for femicide against the widower and another for procedural fraud (cover-up) against his relatives and the doctor, however, after the investigation of the Prosecutor’s Office, three other investigations were derived against officials for allegedly helping to escape and pass valuable information on to the family of the femicide suspect.

Although it sounds too painful for this family, Lisbeth’s parents had to face the prosecutor Luis Machado, who was initially investigating the crime, and today he is being investigated by the Department of Discipline Control of the Prosecutor’s Office for allegedly having helped the suspect escape.

Luis h. He left the country on December 29 of last year, six days after the autopsy revealed that Liss had been murdered.

“For almost a week Luis H. did not have a capture ticket, he walked out of the Guayaquil airport well and nobody told him anything. When he had already sat on the plane, the prosecutor got the arrest warrant, “said Lisbeth’s father.

A secretary of the La Merced Prosecutor’s Office was also prosecuted for allegedly having leaked the information that allowed Luis H.’s relatives to escape when the Police went to Puerto Azul to search their homes and take them into custody.

Last August, another scandal surrounding this case occurred when an official from the Florida Judicial Complex revealed in front of Luis H.’s lawyers that he had already been located and that he was going to be detained. The relatives assured that once again Lisbeth’s widower escaped.

The Prosecutor’s Office has not revealed at what stage the proceedings against public officials are.

At what stage are the processes?

Currently, the femicide investigation is suspended until the widower is arrested and brought to trial. The current prosecutor in the case, Yoli Pinillo, has all the evidence to obtain a conviction. For example, DNA from her husband was found under Liss’s nails and witnesses said that Luis H. had bruises on his face.

Meanwhile, in the process for procedural fraud, the diligence to start taking testimonies has been postponed four times.

There are 50 testimonies that must be received at the trial by the Prosecutor’s Office and the first to take the stand is Mario Baquerizo.

Lisbeth’s father says that at that rate they will have to wait another year for a sentence to be obtained against those who covered up his son’s crime and set up the scene at the foot of the stairs.

“Since August I have been waiting to give my testimony and nothing is postponed and postponed”; the man mentioned in a low voice while his wife shouted in front of the posters calling for justice and showing solidarity with the parents of the model Naomi Arcentales, whose death is being investigated by the Guayas Prosecutor’s Office to rule out a possible femicide.

The only person convicted of the cover-up crime was the funeral home worker, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five months in jail. After the sentence, he left prison, as he had already been detained during that time.

How did Lisbeth die?

The autopsy revealed that Liss had two sharps wounds to her head that could have been caused by a heavy and sharp object, the object has not yet been found, but Lisbeth’s mother said the doctor who did the autopsy asked if they had found an ax or similar object at the scene.

The only person arrested in the Lisbeth Baquerizo case was sentenced to 5 months in prison and would be about to be released from prison

In addition, many bruises that had been made up were discovered on the woman’s corpse, so it is presumed that there was a fight between the couple before death.

The experts also determined, thanks to the luminol, that Liss did not die at the foot of the stairs, but that the crime occurred near the kitchen. Then the body would have been bathed in the room and placed under the stairs to appear to have fallen.

“There was a stain of blood that did not match,” said Liss’s mother. The body had blood on the arm as if it had been spilled on it. If it had been the product of the fall, the blood would only have been on the floor, explained the mother some time ago. When reviewing a photo of the scene the parents noticed this inconsistency. (I)