Argentine model's femicide in Mexico: ex-boyfriend deported after three years on the run
Juan Manuel Reverter arrived in handcuffs at Ezeiza after being captured in Oregon. The Quintana Roo judiciary has issued a request for him in connection with the murder of Agostina Jalabert.
Ex-boyfriend of Agostina Jalabert arrives deported from the US and is detained at Ezeiza
Juan Manuel Reverter (38) landed on Saturday at 10 am at Ezeiza International Airport on Aerolíneas Argentinas flight AR1303, escorted by officers from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) service. Personnel from the Argentine Federal Police (PFA) and Airport Security Police (PSA) detained him at the terminal and handed him over to the federal judiciary of Lomas de Zamora.
According to clarin.com, Reverter had been arrested on 23 July at approximately 7:30 am in the state of Oregon, during a joint operation by the US Marshals Service, Interpol Washington, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Border Patrol. His passport had expired and there was an active international arrest warrant: he was wanted for the femicide of Argentine model Agostina Jalabert (31), which occurred on 18 February 2023 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
One hundred days after that detention, the US authorities chose to deport him rather than initiate a formal extradition process. The extradition will now have to be processed to Mexico, as it is the judiciary of Quintana Roo district that has issued the request for the accused.
Three years on the run
Reverter left Playa del Carmen after the crime. According to testimonies reconstructed by the investigation, he apparently returned to Argentina first and then moved to the United States, where he remained without renewing his documentation. "He never renewed his passport, so he was without proper papers," said Edgardo, Agostina's father. "He fell because of both things. From there the whole process began for him to be deported to Mexico," he added.
The Interpol red notice was issued due to the three years the accused had been a fugitive. The Quintana Roo Penal Code establishes a maximum sentence of 40 years imprisonment for this type of crime, which enabled the activation of the international request.
The body found in the bathroom and the change of charges
Agostina's body was found by her sister Candela on 18 February 2023 in the bathroom of the house they shared in Playa del Carmen. She had a belt around her neck. Initially, the Mexican judiciary classified the death as suicide.
The reconstruction of the events changed that hypothesis: the scene showed clear signs of violence and disorder. A subsequent autopsy determined that the injuries to the neck were incompatible with voluntary hanging: bruises, blows and signs of pressure were detected. Based on these elements, the Quintana Roo prosecutor's office reclassified the case as femicide.
The prosecutor's main hypothesis is that Jalabert was beaten and strangled beforehand, and that the scene was then staged to simulate suicide. "She was beaten, asphyxiated and then placed in a staged scene to simulate her death," confirmed sources from the Mexican judiciary cited by the outlet.
A relationship that began during the pandemic
Agostina Jalabert was a model and influencer. She met Reverter during the pandemic in Viedma, in Río Negro province. The couple separated after an episode that reportedly involved a situation of violence. At the end of 2022, Reverter travelled to Playa del Carmen to spend the holidays with her and decided to stay and live in the city.
Jalabert's family indicated from the outset that the relationship was "toxic" and that Reverter was the main suspect. The capture in Oregon was received with relief by relatives. "We knew it was going to happen at some point and we were waiting for it," said the victim's father when the detention became known.
Reverter remains in the custody of the Federal Police whilst the procedural steps for his transfer to Mexico are defined, where he will have to answer to the Quintana Roo judiciary as the sole accused in the femicide.
Source: Google News AR — Crime