Rosalba Albarracín's brother reveals financial fraud and property dispute before murder
The younger brother of Rosalba Albarracín testified to the court that the victim suffered wage theft and usurped loans. The crime committed in Rawson in 2023 still has no defendants.
Key testimony in Albarracín case exposes alleged economic plunder and conflict over housing
A year after the murder of Rosalba Albarracín in Rawson, the judicial investigation still has no formally charged persons, according to tiempodesanjuan.com. The case received an extension on 1 April in its pre-formalisation stage, and the net around a group of suspects from the victim's family and external circle continues to tighten.
The case incorporated key testimony through an atypical jurisdictional hearing for advance evidence. Aldo Enrique Albarracín (68), the victim's younger brother, gave a statement via a video-recorded interview in a format similar to the Gesell Chamber, after suffering a nervous crisis upon coming face-to-face with other family members. Isolated from them, he answered questions from prosecutor Roberto Ginsberg and assistant prosecutor Victoria Martín, from the Special Crimes Unit (UFI), as well as from defence counsel María Filomena Noriega—who represents suspects identified with the surnames Gordillo and Rojas—and from public defender Daniela Nielson, who acts on behalf of unknown perpetrators.
Salaries collected by third parties and loans taken in the victim's name
"All I know is that they killed my sister," Aldo declared, his account painting a picture of systematic economic abuse in Rosalba's final months. According to the witness, his niece Noemí and her partner Gordillo lived at the same address as the victim and allegedly took advantage of that proximity to appropriate her income.
"My sister had the problem that they were taking her money. They were taking her salaries. They would collect them for her and give her different money," Aldo told prosecutors. The scheme came to light when he accompanied Rosalba to the bank: the bank authorities informed them of the actual amount the woman should have been receiving—a sum she herself was unaware of—and warned them that loans had been taken out in her name. The collection cards, according to the witness, were in the possession of Rojas and Noemí.
After learning of the situation, the family proceeded to cancel the cards so that Rosalba could start collecting over the counter at the Las Heras street branch. Aldo recommended keeping quiet and filing a report immediately, but another brother directly confronted the suspects about the loans. "He asked him why he had taken out loans in his name. He said he knew nothing and got nervous. This was a short time before Rosalba died," the witness recounted.
Pressure to take possession of the house and a manipulated life insurance policy
In addition to the alleged financial fraud, there was a conflict over the property. Aldo testified that the family members in question were pressuring Rosalba with the threat of taking the house away from her: "They started telling her they were going to take the house from her." The situation led to the victim sending them a formal letter demanding eviction. "We didn't know who gave them the house, we found out later when they were already there. I don't think it's right for him to come and say they can't be removed," Aldo stated.
The witness also introduced an element that prosecutors consider relevant: the manipulation of a life insurance policy. Following a visit by another of Rosalba's sisters to her home, the family discovered documentation in which the niece Noemí, another person, and Aldo himself were listed as beneficiaries, though he insisted he was completely unaware of the situation. After family conflict and administrative proceedings, the document was modified so that Aldo became the sole beneficiary.
In parallel, the suspects allegedly attempted to isolate another of the victim's brothers, harassing him with insults.
The day before the body was discovered
Rosalba Albarracín was an independent woman who suffered from vision problems and therefore occasionally received help from a neighbour or her brothers. She maintained a romantic relationship of several years with a man surnamed Jofré. Due to her background in the child welfare sector, she knew Judge Toro, to whom she had turned for help regarding the situation she was experiencing in her own home.
Aldo's testimony provided a detail that investigators consider significant. The brother himself recalled a telephone conversation with Rosalba the day before the body was found, before 17:53 hours. "I spoke to her, she thanked me for a transaction I had completed. The day they found her dead, she was going to go speak with Judge Toro," he revealed. Rosalba never made it to that meeting. Aldo learned of his sister's death while conducting business at the Municipality.
When asked whether the victim had enemies outside the family circle, the brother responded that he did not know, though he insisted that Rosalba "had no problems with anyone."
The prosecution reconstructs the victim's final days
The court is evaluating the weight of these statements, which expose a conflict of interests, irregular financial dealings, and an active property dispute in the days before the crime. The defence of Gordillo and Rojas, headed by lawyer Noriega, seeks to dismiss any links between their clients and the act. The prosecution, comprised of Ginsberg and Martín, continues to reconstruct the puzzle of Rosalba Albarracín's final days with the aim of identifying those responsible for her death, which occurred in 2023 in Rawson.
Source: Google News PR — San Juan