Main suspect Juan José Janssen confessed the rape and murder of 12-year-old Sofía Viale during a questioning round with Prosecutor Maximiliano Boga Doyhenard, who is presiding over the investigation.
Janssen, 32, had been arrested in the city of Trenque Lauquen, Buenos Aires province, on Monday afternoon as he was trying to run away.
La Pampa’s Deputy police chief Juan Domingo Pérez had also said that the suspect was on “parole” for having “abused” his stepdaughter.
A preliminary report of the autopsy carried out on the girl who was found dead on Monday in General Pico, La Pampa, had confirmed that the girl was raped, beaten up and strangled on the same day she disappeared, on August 31, legal sources reported.
The court ordered a DNA test to confirm scientifically that the body belongs to Sofía Viale, because her relatives were not able to identify her given the state of the corpse.
Legal sources said there were bruises all over her body, especially on her face, and also wounds in the genital area, “consistent with rape.”
The victim’s body was found buried under a grill located at Juan José Janssen’s house in the Ranqueles neighbourhood of General Pico, only a block away from where the victim used to live with her family.
Moreover, provincial lawmakers called for the resignation of La Pampa Government (Interior), Justice and Security Minister César Rodríguez and vowed to impeach him.
Source: Buenos Aires Heald