Trial for Villa Lugano murder: "Pity" Álvarez failed to appear at ninth hearing
The singer missed the oral proceedings in the homicide of Cristian Díaz because he "did not want to leave his room", according to his defence lawyer.
"Pity" Álvarez absent from trial into homicide of Cristian Díaz
Cristian "Pity" Álvarez failed to appear on Wednesday at the ninth hearing of the oral trial into the murder of Cristian Maximiliano Díaz, which occurred on 12 July 2018 in the Cardenal Samoré residential complex in Villa Lugano, according to ellitoral.com.
His defence lawyer, Sebastián Queijeiro, explained that the singer failed to appear because he "did not want to leave his room". "He is very difficult to manage," the attorney specified. His colleague Javier Ignacio Baños added that the former leader of Viejas Locas and Intoxicados "became unwell".
Baños also renewed his criticism of judges Gustavo Goerner, Juan Ramos Padilla and Hugo Navarro, members of the Criminal and Correctional Oral Court No. 29 of the City of Buenos Aires, who had directed a "warning" toward him during the proceedings. "They gave me a warning for exercising the right to a defence. If the price of 'Pity's' freedom is a warning, it is well worth paying," the lawyer stated, accusing the magistrates of committing "one arbitrary act after another".
During the session, prosecutor Sandro Abraldes summoned four witnesses: officer Mariano González, who searched for the singer at the nightclub Pinar de Rocha, located in Ramos Mejía, which Álvarez had visited after the crime; agent Walter Guayta, who received him at the police station when he surrendered to authorities; licenciate Adela Beatriz Ahuad, psychologist with the Forensic Medical Corps; and expert Esteban Toro Martínez.
The charge is simple homicide with eventual intent. If found guilty, the singer would face a sentence of between 8 and 25 years in prison.
According to the prosecution, Álvarez removed a pistol from the right pocket of his jacket and fired at Díaz's head. When the victim fell to the ground, he fired three more shots at the same area. After the incident, he fled the scene and discarded the weapon. A few hours later he was arrested.
When he surrendered, the musician declared to the press: "I killed him because it was him or me, and I think any animal would do the same."
Source: Google News AR — Buenos Aires