Double homicide on ship Ayane: "El Loco" Lima dies in prison before trial
Carlos "El Loco" Lima, accused of killing two officers aboard the Ayane in 2021, was found hanged in his cell in La Plata on 30 September.
Former police officer accused of double river crime dies in cell weeks before trial
Carlos Eugenio "El Loco" Lima Forcada, a former member of the Buenos Aires Police who later became a merchant marine officer, died in the early hours of Wednesday, 30 September in Penitentiary Unit No. 9 in La Plata. He was 54 years old and was awaiting the start of his trial scheduled for November 2026, according to eldia.com.
Prison staff found him around 1.10 a.m. suspended from the bars of his cell, held by two cables placed around his neck, with his legs semi-flexed and resting on the floor. The duty physician at the facility confirmed his death on the spot.
Officers from the Eighth Police Station arrived at the prison, located on Calle 76 between 9 and 10, at around 1.40 a.m. The area was already cordoned off and marked with tape. The prosecution was notified at around 2.15 a.m. and ordered an investigation to be opened under the heading "inquiry into causes of death". At 3.33 a.m., personnel from the Scientific Police arrived to document the conditions of the discovery and carry out forensic examinations.
The initial medical-legal conclusions determined the cause of death to be an asphyxia syndrome secondary to extrinsic compression of the neck by hanging. However, the report was made conditional on the results of pending additional tests. The courts have kept the investigation open to establish the exact circumstances of the death.
The double homicide aboard the Ayane
Lima had been in custody since October 2021, accused of murdering two superior officers whilst the ship Ayane was navigating the Río de la Plata. According to the accusation, in the early hours of 23 October that year, he took a weapon and fired at Captain Alejandro Daniel García, aged 39, and First Officer Juan Alfonso Pegasano, aged 48. Both died as a result of the gunshots.
The vessel had more than twenty crew members. Following the attack, part of the crew managed to take shelter and isolate the accused in a section of the ship until Naval Prefecture personnel arrived. One of the most striking moments of the incident was the telephone communication that Lima maintained with the security force shortly after the events: according to reports at the time, he stated that the two officers were dead, that he was the one who had killed them, and requested that a vessel approach to detain him.
The case generated an extensive judicial investigation into what happened on the ship, the weapon used, and the circumstances that preceded the attack. The trial, in which Lima's criminal responsibility for the murders of García and Pegasano was to be established, was set for November 2026. With the death of the defendant, that proceeding can no longer take place.
A criminal history that began in City Bell
The name Lima Forcada had already appeared in police reports long before the river crime. Before joining the Merchant Marine, he served in the Buenos Aires Police. His first serious incident dates back to June 2008 in City Bell.
That night he left his home with a sledgehammer and began smashing the pavement of the street, claiming he had a problem with his washing machine's drain. When his neighbour Gustavo Alfano approached him to ask what he was doing and warned him that the damage could affect his own home, the argument quickly escalated. Lima drew a 9-millimetre pistol and fired at Alfano, who received six bullet impacts to his arm, leg and spinal area. Alfano survived.
After the shooting, Lima barricaded himself in his home and also opened fire on the police officers who arrived at the scene. The situation required the intervention of the Hawk Group. He was finally apprehended when he ran out of ammunition.
For this incident, he received a prison sentence and remained incarcerated for several years. After regaining his freedom, he resumed his activities in the Merchant Marine until October 2021, when he was involved in a criminal act of greater magnitude, this time in the waters of the Río de la Plata.
Lima's death on 30 September, just over a month before the scheduled start of the trial proceedings, brings the judicial case against him to an end. The criminal case for the double homicide aboard the Ayane thus concludes without a conviction or verdict.
Source: Google News PE — Lima