Laura María Rave Sánchez—sentenced to 17 years and 9 months in prison for setting fire to her home to kill her husband on January 31 in the La Milagrosa neighborhood of Medellín—spoke about their relationship and insisted she felt no remorse for the crime. She even mentioned spending 20,000 pesos on gasoline to start the deadly blaze.
She recounted the events of that early Saturday morning in January to the *Testimonios Colombia* podcast during an interview from La Picaleña Prison in Ibagué, where she is incarcerated following her conviction for the murder of her husband, Alexis Ospina Piedrahita. Their relationship had been marked by violence and a cycle of constant breakups and reconciliations.
She first stated that alcohol played a decisive role in the deterioration of a relationship that began during the 2020 pandemic; after the initial courtship phase, the relationship became characterized by violent reactions from both sides.
“There was violence from the very beginning. Whenever we went out partying or for drinks with friends, we would always come home and tear the place apart. From the start of the relationship, there were insults, mistreatment, and humiliations,” Laura recounted from the correctional facility.
She also described several incidents where they threatened to kill one another—usually after socializing with friends. Some altercations were sparked by jealousy, while others arose simply from grievances over past issues. “He would have these sudden urges—fits of rage. He’d throw everything on the floor, or I’d have to lock myself in a room because he’d tell me he was going to kill me—or if not me, then my son. And this was right at the start of the relationship, before our daughter was even born,” said the mother of a 13-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl (the latter from her relationship with Alexis).
Although she noted that the relationship had its good moments, conflict prevailed most of the time, with acts of violence that grew increasingly intense: “At first it was insults, then he’d trash the house, and eventually the beatings started—leading up to the inevitable outcome,” she recounted.
One of the most severe assaults, she recounted, occurred after a party with friends; he began insulting her, and then the physical attacks started. “I remember he was holding a bottle; I smashed it and scratched him. Then he threw me onto the bed and tried to strangle me.”
