Confessed murderer of Santiago Urbani released under new juvenile criminal law in San Isidro
Judge Flori ordered the release of C.D.V., convicted of the 2009 homicide, after applying the new 15-year maximum of the Juvenile Criminal Regime.
Defendant sentenced to 19 years regains freedom after exceeding new juvenile criminal penalty limit
Judge Alejandro Diego Flori, head of the Juvenile Criminal Responsibility Court No. 3 in San Isidro, ordered the release of C.D.V., convicted of the homicide of Santiago Urbani, effective from 5 September 2026. The ruling, to which infobae.com gained access, was signed on 4 September and was based on the new Juvenile Criminal Regime that came into force that same day.
C.D.V. had been sentenced to 19 years imprisonment for robbery with firearm, homicide as a means to an end, and illegal possession of a war weapon in concurrent sentences. However, the sentence was not final: the defence had filed appeals before the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation and the proceedings had remained with the Attorney General's Office since 1 October 2025.
The crux of the ruling was Article 19 of Law 27.801, which set a maximum of 15 years imprisonment for cases covered by the Juvenile Criminal Regime. The law was promulgated on 9 March 2026 and came into force 180 days after its publication.
Flori applied Article 2 of the Criminal Code, which requires the use of the more lenient law when it comes into force during the serving of a sentence. The judge argued that the effects of the legislative change must operate by operation of law, and also cited international treaties incorporated into the National Constitution, including the American Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The determining factor was the time served in custody: C.D.V. had been continuously detained since 17 October 2009. According to the calculation incorporated into the file, at the time of the ruling he had served 16 years, 10 months and 17 days in custody, that is, more than one year and ten months above the new legal limit of 15 years.
Both the prosecution and the defence agreed that the new regime should be applied. The prosecutor ruled on 2 September that the 15-year limit should apply as it was a more favourable provision; the defence concurred with this argument. With that agreement and given the time already served in custody, Flori declared the non-final sentence extinguished and ordered the release.
The release was to take effect from 12:00 on 5 September 2026 at the place where C.D.V. was being held. The authorities were to verify beforehand that there were no outstanding arrest or detention orders against him in another case. If there were any pending judicial requirements, the ruling ordered that he remain available to the judge who had issued that measure.
Santiago Urbani was murdered in the early morning hours of 10 October 2009. Four criminals intercepted him whilst he was parking his car and forced him into his house on Avenida Liniers at 1900, in Tigre, where his mother and sister were sleeping. The robbers gathered valuables and loaded them into the victim's vehicle. During the robbery, the young musician was taken to his sister's room and murdered by a shotgun blast to the head.
C.D.V. was a minor at the time of the crime and was one of those convicted of the murder. Nearly 17 years after his detention, he regained freedom through the retrospective application of the new penalty limit established for those who committed crimes whilst under the age of majority.
Source: Google News CL — Santiago