Justice took more than five years to arrive for Montserrat Bendimes Roldán. This Thursday, July 9, a judge in Veracruz found Marlon Botas Fuentes guilty of her femicide. Outside the courthouse, her mother, Cecilia Roldán, waited, her face etched with the weariness of a battle she should never have had to fight.
“Justice has been served, he has been held accountable. We hope that with this, we can finally conclude what we have been asking for. This is what we hoped for, not an act of revenge, but simply that my daughter may rest in peace,” Cecilia told the press as she left the courthouse.
The legal process lasted more than five years. Botas Fuentes’ defense maintained until the very end that the injuries that caused Montserrat’s death were the result of an accident.
The legal process lasted more than five years. Botas Fuentes’ defense maintained until the very end that the injuries that caused Montserrat’s death were the result of an accident. The judge determined that this version of events could not be substantiated and that the evidence presented by the Veracruz State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) and the family’s legal representation fully established the defendant’s guilt.
The formal sentence, which could reach up to 70 years in prison, will be determined at a sentencing hearing scheduled for July 16.
The femicide of Montserrat Bendimes Roldán occurred on April 17, 2021, in the Casas Tamsa housing development in the municipality of Boca del Río, Veracruz.
Montserrat was an Industrial Engineering student at the University of the Valley of Mexico. She was 21 years old and had been in a relationship with Marlon Botas for a year. The family says she never showed any signs of violence: he always presented himself as kind and respectful.
