Man charged in pensioner's death in Neuquén declared unaccountable: hospitalisation for up to 10 years
A Dominican man was dismissed from charges in the homicide of Olga Quinteros in Piedra del Águila after being declared unaccountable. He will remain hospitalised in a mental health facility for up to a decade.
Dismissal on grounds of unaccountability in case of pensioner murdered in Piedra del Águila
A Dominican citizen investigated in connection with the homicide of Olga Delina Quinteros, 70, in Piedra del Águila, Neuquén province, was declared unaccountable and dismissed from charges, with mandatory hospitalisation in a mental health establishment for a maximum of ten years, according to infobae.com.
The ruling was announced on Tuesday. Authorities determined that the accused "was not capable of understanding his actions nor controlling his behaviour" at the time of the act, based on medical reports prepared following his detention.
Arrest in Buenos Aires three days after the crime
The man was arrested on 17 March 2025 in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, three days after the crime was committed. Since then he has been hospitalised in a mental health facility by order of the National Court of Letters Rogatory in Buenos Aires.
According to the reconstruction presented by the Public Prosecution Service, on 14 March 2025 the accused entered Quinteros's home with the intent to steal. He attacked the victim there and took money, a chain, a watch, rings and a Volkswagen T-Cross vehicle.
With the vehicle, the accused travelled to the Buenos Aires municipality of Azul, where he abandoned it after running out of fuel. He was subsequently taken to Buenos Aires by a lorry driver. The search operation concluded when he attempted to enter the consulate of the Dominican Republic in that city, where he allegedly sought protection.
Request for unaccountability backed by psychiatric examinations
The case had initially been investigated as a suspected femicide, but the charge was changed to aggravated robbery resulting in homicide as principal perpetrator. During the hearing on 17 April, chief prosecutor Gastón Ávila and legal assistant Lucila Maggiora formally requested a declaration of unaccountability.
The request was based on psychiatric reports prepared by the hospital where the accused remained hospitalised and by the Psychiatry Department of the Judicial Medical Corps of Neuquén's judiciary. Both institutions concluded that the man "was not in a condition to understand his actions nor to control his behaviour".
Judicial ruling: dismissal with security measure
Judge Ignacio Pombo approved the declaration of unaccountability, the dismissal and the security measure of mandatory hospitalisation. He ordered that this be carried out in a mental health facility and that it cease if the medical conditions and risks that prompted it are reversed.
The ruling also provides that, should the hospitalisation reach its maximum term or the risks to the patient himself or third parties disappear, the interdisciplinary team providing mental health care must intervene one week before the deadline expires. In that case, continuity of treatment will fall under civil judicial control.
The Buenos Aires health facility where the man has been lodged since his detention must continue with medical care under the regime of involuntary hospitalisation until his transfer to another institution is arranged.
The ruling instructed the Court of Letters Rogatory of Buenos Aires to assist in supervising the security measure, with permanent police custody. The civil public defender and the civil judge involved are responsible for monitoring and overseeing the measure, which will remain under the authority of the Criminal Execution Judge with three-monthly review of the patient's situation.
Source: Google News AR — Buenos Aires