Erica Hagan case: twelve years without convictions for the murder in Temuco as the U.S. pressures for a resolution
The American psychologist was murdered in Temuco in 2014 and the investigation has passed through three prosecutors' offices without result. The U.S. ambassador promised continued pressure on Chilean authorities.
Twelve years without convictions for the murder of psychologist Erica Hagan in Temuco
The body of Erica Hagan, a 22-year-old American psychologist, was found on 5 September 2014 in the bathtub of her apartment within the Baptist College of Temuco, 680 kilometres south of Santiago, where she was completing an internship. According to kchcomunicacion.com, twelve years after the crime there have been no convictions and the investigation has accumulated two closures without result.
The body presented cranioencephalic trauma caused by at least four blows, allegedly inflicted with a fireplace poker. Initial forensic examinations ruled out rape and indicated that the attacker was someone known to the victim, given that the apartment door had not been forced. After the attack, the killer dragged the naked body and submerged it in hot water, and also attempted to burn clothing, a mobile phone and a tablet to eliminate traces.
Three prosecutors' offices and two closures without culprits
The initial investigation pointed to the college security guard Domingo Cofré, who spent eight months in preventive detention. The only available evidence was the poker, with no traces of the victim's blood. In late 2015, Cofré was acquitted due to severe inconsistencies in the case file, loss of scientific evidence and negligence by the Police and the local Prosecutor's Office.
In 2021, Erica's mother requested the case be reopened, arguing that the PDI could carry out new forensic examinations using tools that did not exist in 2014, in particular to obtain DNA samples. However, in March 2024 the regional prosecutor of La Araucanía, Roberto Garrido, confirmed the closure for a second time, again with no one held responsible.
Garrido admitted the shortcomings of the process to the media: "Evidently, there were many errors, the Civil Court determined that there had been negligent work on the part of the Public Prosecutor's Office and the police. There was preparation of that case, there was cleaning work at the crime scene, evidence was lost in that work." The prosecutor also noted that there were no remaining active lines of investigation and that all proceedings had been exhausted.
The O'Higgins Prosecutor's Office takes up the case for a third time
In late September 2024, the national prosecutor Ángel Valencia ordered the Regional Prosecutor's Office of O'Higgins to take on the case for a third time. The regional prosecutor of that zone, Aquiles Cubillos, has ordered advanced forensic examinations on evidence that at the time could not be processed with precision, including the mobile phone partially burned by the attacker, from which attempts are being made to recover data and geolocalisation.
New genetic comparisons were also requested on key pieces of evidence from the scene, including a fingernail fragment collected during the initial forensic examinations. Cubillos does not rule out the participation of more than one person and is again pointing to individuals from the Baptist College's circle who between 2014 and 2015 were ruled out, possibly hastily or negligently.
The risk of a final closure
If the case file is archived again without those responsible being identified, the chances of a fourth reopening are practically nil. Faced with that scenario, Regina O'Neal, mother of Erica Hagan, has maintained constant pressure on authorities from the first day.
O'Neal wrote to the U.S. ambassador to Chile, Brandon Judd, to request the backing of the American government. Judd responded explicitly in March: "Your daughter's case remains a priority for our team here in Santiago, and I would like to reiterate our commitment to you: we will continue to raise Erica's case at every appropriate opportunity in our relationship with Chilean authorities; we will continue to insist on a conclusive resolution of the case; and we will continue to offer assistance to Chilean authorities when requested and appropriate to advance and improve their work towards a resolution."
The diplomat also confirmed in his letter that the embassy maintains direct contact with prosecutors and police, and that the FBI collaborates in the technical forensic examinations.
The defence fears another failure
The lawyer for Regina O'Neal, Catalina Castillo, valued the embassy's backing but did not hide her concern. "We fear that this new investigation will be a failure again. It will have been two years since the O'Higgins Prosecutor's Office took charge of this investigation and to date we have obtained no effective result," she warned.
On 5 September 2026, twelve years had passed since the murder. The case file remains open, although with no formal charges brought, and the pressure from the family and the U.S. government maintains the only real possibility that the case is not archived permanently.
Source: Google News CL — Crime