Father and son sentenced to 34 and 17 years for femicide in Río Blanco, Santo Domingo
An Ecuadorian court imposed sentences of 34 years and eight months on the direct perpetrator and 17 years and four months on the accomplice for the femicide that occurred in December 2023.
Court condemns father and son for femicide committed in Río Blanco
The Criminal Guarantees Court handed down a conviction against Frank Alexis L. S. and his father, Hernán Franklin L. I., for the femicide of a woman registered on 16 December 2023 in the canton of La Concordia, province of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas. According to elcomercio.com, the direct perpetrator received 34 years and eight months in prison, whilst the father, convicted as an accomplice, must serve 17 years and four months in custody.
To determine the sentences, the judges applied article 141 of the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code (COIP), along with the aggravating factors established in articles 47 and 48 of the same legal code, in consideration of the treacherous manner in which the crime was committed and the vulnerable situation in which the victim was placed.
The deception and the transfer from Quito
The background to the crime dates to 16 December 2023, when Frank Alexis L. S. persuaded his romantic partner to travel from Quito to the canton of La Concordia under the pretext of a recreational outing. Upon arrival in the province, both met with Hernán Franklin L. I. and the three travelled together to the banks of Río Blanco.
It was at that location where the fatal assault took place. Forensic reconstructions established that the father struck the victim on the head with a rock, proceeded to strangle her, and finally submerged her in the waters of the river until causing her death by drowning.
The discovery of the body, four days later
On 20 December 2023, four days after her disappearance, search teams located the lifeless body of the woman floating in the Río Blanco sector. Forensic examinations confirmed contusions to the head, asphyxiation, and drowning as causes of death.
The evidence that sustained the conviction
The body of evidence included images from security cameras at a petrol station located at the exit from Quito, where the moment the couple boarded the vehicle was recorded. Additional recordings from a commercial establishment documented the moment when Hernán Franklin L. I. got into the car during the journey.
Experts also recovered the victim's vehicle in the vicinity of the home of relatives of the defendants. As a central element of the trial, Frank Alexis L. S. himself testified at the hearing as an eyewitness and detailed his father's actions during the events.
Source: Google News DO — Santo Domingo