Minor allegedly carried out attack on financial manager of Quito university
A 17-year-old adolescent is believed to be the perpetrator of the murder of Santiago Ávalos, while colleagues spied on him from within the institution, according to an investigation in Quito.
Minor allegedly carried out attack on financial manager of Quito university
The homicide of Santiago David Ávalos Páez, a 42-year-old executive at the University of Las Américas (UDLA), was perpetrated on 11 June last year in an armed attack as the professional was returning to his residence. The judicial investigation reveals a network of complicity involving the victim's colleagues and a young hitman.
Prosecutors contend that the plan did not originate from common organised crime, but was hatched from within the administrative offices of the educational institution. The centre of the conspiracy was Galo O. G., 44, who held the position of Director of Operations. Several of those charged worked under his command.
Tension between Galo O. and Ávalos is believed to have begun in March, when the deceased initiated audits of the entity's expenses. As head of finances, Ávalos had to authorise institutional purchases, a function that gave him visibility over fund management.
The spying was recorded on closed-circuit television footage. On 8 June, María del Carmen S. V. (36) and Juan Pablo G. O. (24) appear in the third underground car park, recording images of Ávalos's silver Nissan in parking space 273. On 10 June, Galo O. and María del Carmen repeated the operation in the same area.
Juan Carlos G. T. (36), another operational assistant, is also believed to have collaborated by checking the presence of the victim's vehicle in the car parks.
On 11 June, Josselyn Lisbeth V. C. (28) hired a ride-sharing vehicle from outside the nightclub La Mimosa, in the northern part of the city. She was wearing a dark garment with turquoise trim. She told the driver that he needed to pick up someone in Carapungo.
There she was joined by a slim boy wearing a black coat and hood. This was C.D.E.L., 17, who greeted the woman with a "hello mami". Both indicated their final destination as the surroundings of the university. At 16:09, they got out of the vehicle and walked around the outside of the academic grounds.
Moments later, a pantanera-type motorcycle, painted black with white, positioned itself metres before the car exit. The motorcyclist was wearing a dark helmet, cream-coloured hoodie and blue trousers.
Inside the campus, at 18:10, Ávalos went down to the garage and spoke with Galo O. and a driver from the educational institution. The deceased demanded a pending document from Galo O., whilst the latter looked at his mobile phone without taking his eyes off it.
In parallel, the cameras show María del Carmen S. lingering near Ávalos and recording images. At 18:18, the financial manager left in his Nissan. On public road, the adolescent boarded the motorcycle and began the pursuit.
The day after the crime, uniformed officers analysed the recordings with Fausto H., the campus security officer, who had already noticed suspicious behaviour from employees in the Operations area.
_Source: Primicias_
Source: Google News CL — Santiago