Life sentence for taxi driver's killer in Pedro Aguirre Cerda in 2021
The Sixth Oral Trial Court of Santiago convicted Manuel Alejandro Gómez Martínez of robbery with homicide. The victim, a taxi driver, survived 36 hours after being stabbed.
Sentenced to life imprisonment for robbery with homicide of taxi driver in Santiago
The Sixth Oral Trial Court in Criminal Matters of Santiago sentenced Manuel Alejandro Gómez Martínez to simple life imprisonment for the consummated crime of robbery with homicide, according to pjud.cl. The crime occurred in the early morning of 27 March 2021, near the intersection of avenida Departamental with avenida Cerrillos, in the municipality of Pedro Aguirre Cerda.
The ruling, adopted unanimously in case number 284-2025, was drafted by the court composed of judges Flavia Donoso Parada—presiding—, Macarena Rubilar Navarrete and Silvana Vera Riquelme.
The established facts
The tribunal found it established, beyond reasonable doubt, that Gómez Martínez unlawfully took, with intent to profit, the basic taxi with licence plate HSWY-45 and the belongings inside it, without the consent of its owner, identified by the initials F.J.S.R. During the assault, the condemned man inflicted multiple stab wounds on the victim, who died as a consequence of them.
The victim survived 36 hours with the serious wounds. Of his own accord, he requested help to be taken to a medical facility, indicating that he had family. Hours after the crime, the vehicle was found on avenida Sur at number 533, Laguna Verde sector, in Valparaíso.
Acquittal of the second defendant
In the same ruling, the tribunal decreed the acquittal of Nicolás Ignacio Aravena Berríos, whom the Public Prosecutor's Office had named as responsible for the crime of receiving stolen property in the form of the motor vehicle. The acquittal was based on the lack of proof of his participation.
Determination of the sentence
To set the penalty, the tribunal applied article 433 No. 1 of the Penal Code, which provides for a sentence ranging from medium-degree imprisonment to qualified life imprisonment. As no mitigating circumstances of criminal responsibility were present, the judges applied the penalty in its full extent.
The ruling highlighted the extent of the harm caused: "The greatest extent of the harm caused, consisting of causing the death of the victim, a person who had a survival period of 36 hours with serious stab wounds, who by his own means requested help to be taken to a medical facility".
The ruling also stressed the impact on the victim's family. His daughter and his live-in partner testified at trial and recounted the consequences of the crime: unfinished projects, children who were studying and, in the midst of the pandemic, the loss of the family's only source of income.
Additional measures
The sentence includes, in addition to the custodial penalty, the legal accessory penalties of absolute perpetual disqualification from public office and posts and political rights for the entire life of the condemned person, together with subjection to supervision by the authorities for the maximum period established by the Penal Code.
Once the ruling becomes final, the tribunal ordered that biological samples be taken from Gómez Martínez to determine his genetic profile and incorporate it into the national DNA registry of convicts.
Source: Google News CL — Santiago