Killer of Santiago Urbani released in Argentina under new youth criminal law
The person convicted of the murder of Santiago Urbani in Tigre (2009) was released following the application of the new Youth Criminal Code, which sets a maximum of 15 years.
Man convicted of homicide in Tigre regains freedom 17 years after crime
The man who confessed to participating in the murder of Santiago Urbani, which occurred in Tigre in October 2009, was released on Saturday 5 September 2026 at 12:00. According to canal13sanjuan.com, the release was ordered by judge Alejandro Diego Flori, who applied the new Youth Criminal Code after determining that it was more favourable for the convict, identified as C.D.V.
The 2009 crime
Santiago Urbani was 18 years old when he was murdered in the early hours of 10 October 2009. Four criminals intercepted him on Avenida Liniers at number 1900, as he was attempting to enter his home with his vehicle. One of them shot him in the head before fleeing with various stolen objects.
Days later, Villafañe was arrested. He was 16 years old at the time of the crime. In 2010, the Court of Juvenile Criminal Responsibility No. 3 of San Isidro found him guilty and resolved that the sentence would be determined once he reached adulthood. Months later, judges Alberto Villante, Mirta Ravera Godoy and Silvia Chomiez imposed a sentence of 27 years in prison.
Years of appeals
The defence filed successive appeals. In 2019 it secured a partial ruling on an extraordinary writ of non-applicability of law, and the case was sent to a new court to issue a revised sentence. In that proceeding, C.D.V. was sentenced to 19 years in prison as a person criminally responsible for aggravated robbery through use of a firearm, homicide in furtherance of theft, and illegal possession of military-grade firearms, all as concurrent offences.
That sentence had not become final either. Appeals continued, and from October 2025 the case had been before the Office of the Prosecutor General. In November of that year a new extraordinary writ of non-applicability of law had been filed before the National Court.
The new law that changed the landscape
The entry into force of the New Youth Criminal Code altered the procedural course of the case. The regulation lowered the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 14 years and established a maximum of 15 years in prison for cases covered under the regime.
Judge Flori assessed that this legislation was more favourable for C.D.V.: the ceiling of 15 years provided by the new law was lower than the 19 years imposed in the last sentence, which moreover had not become final. The judge applied the principle of retroactivity of the more lenient criminal law and ordered that the new legislation govern the case from its entry into force.
More than 16 years of detention served
At the time of the judicial decision, C.D.V. had served 16 years, 10 months and 17 days of effective detention. Judge Flori declared the imposed sentence extinguished and ordered immediate release from the facility where he was being held.
Additionally, he ordered it certified that there were no outstanding warrants or detention orders against the man, as under the new regime applied to the case, he had already fully served the corresponding sentence.
Source: Google News CL — Santiago