A control judge has ruled as lawful the detention of Juan Jesús N, identified as the alleged perpetrator of the femicide of Edith Guadalupe; however, his legal status will not be resolved until next Wednesday. In the meantime, he will remain detained at the Reclusorio Norte prison.
During the initial hearing, the Public Prosecutor’s Office—part of the capital city’s Attorney General’s Office—formally charged the 24-year-old man and presented the evidentiary data attached to the case file.
However, the defendant’s legal counsel requested an extension of the statutory deadline; consequently, it will be next Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. when a determination is made regarding whether or not he will be formally indicted and bound over for trial.
At the conclusion of the hearing, Julián Octavio González, Juan Jesús’s defense attorney, stated that the evidence presented by the Prosecutor’s Office does not substantiate the claim that his client committed the crime; therefore, during the continuation hearing, they will seek to prove his innocence.
Juan Jesús appeared to have bruises on various parts of his body; however, his defense attorney was unable to speak privately with his client, as this was not permitted within the courtroom facilities. Consequently, the attorney noted that he would have to wait until they were at the prison facility to hold a proper conversation.
“I am going to go speak with him at the prison because we didn’t have much privacy [in the courtroom], as the procedural staff were present. And yes, I did notice that he seemed a bit frightened… I’m going to have a thorough conversation with him so he can tell me everything in private within the prison’s visiting booths,” the lawyer said.
The defense attorney clarified that Juan Jesús told him he did not commit the crime, though he did not elaborate on further details at the time.
“He told me—well, in short, he told me that he didn’t do it—but he was somewhat constrained by the fact that we were not entirely alone in the room.”
The only thing Juan managed to do was write a brief note to his family members; however, out of respect for their privacy, the details of the note were not disclosed.
“I told him, ‘Write it down in a note, and I’ll make sure your family gets it right away so they can feel a bit more at ease.'”
Claudia, the 24-year-old’s mother, tearfully declared that her son did not commit the crime and asserted that the evidence presented by the Prosecutor’s Office is false. “I want justice to be served—just as Edith’s case was made public, I want justice to be done for her as well—and I want the truth about my son to be made public: that he is innocent,” he emphasized.
