Three arrested for murder of candidate Susy Aponte in Caraz, Áncash
The National Prosecutor confirmed the capture of the hitman, an alleged financier, and a third person who transported the perpetrator. Aponte was shot in the back at a market in Caraz.
Three arrested following the murder of 'China Polo' in Huaylas
The National Prosecutor, Tomás Gálvez, confirmed on Sunday that three people have been arrested in connection with the murder of Susy Aponte Polo, a candidate for the Regional Government of Áncash, according to rpp.pe. The arrests are the result of joint work between the Public Ministry and the National Police of Peru.
"The hitman is already detained, an alleged financier has also been detained, at least that is the immediate lead we have, and also another person who was previously transporting the hitman," Gálvez declared on RPP's news programme Ampliación de Noticias.
The head of the Public Ministry noted that there is sufficient evidence to sustain the detentions. "There are sufficient elements to convince us, to give us the conviction that these people would have participated in the facts," he added, although he avoided revealing the main line of investigation so as not to compromise the case's progress.
The crime occurred during campaign activity
The murder of Aponte Polo, known publicly as 'China Polo', took place on Saturday when the candidate was engaged in a campaign activity at a market in Caraz, in the province of Huaylas. A man attacked her with gunfire from behind and fled the scene. Minutes later, district security personnel intervened with a Venezuelan national allegedly implicated in the crime.
The Public Ministry reported in a statement on social networks that the alleged commission of the crime of contract killing is being investigated and that the first detainees were captured in flagrante delicto.
Ongoing proceedings
Among the proceedings already ordered are the taking of statements from the victims who were injured by gunshot wounds, the review of surveillance camera footage from the hotel where one of the attackers allegedly stayed on 15 September, atomic absorption testing, and the mandatory autopsy.
Journalist with multiple fronts of complaint
Gálvez noted that the hypotheses being considered are varied, linked to Aponte's profile as a "quite outspoken" journalist, which would have generated "multiple fronts of attack" against her. However, he refrained from specifying which of those lines concentrates the investigation.
In addition to her regional candidacy, Aponte Polo worked in journalism through her Facebook platform 'China Polo Dominical', a space from which she disseminated investigative reports and denounced alleged acts of corruption in municipalities, the Public Ministry, and the National Police.
Hours before her death, the communicator had announced forthcoming revelations about candidates from Alianza para el Progreso (APP) in Áncash and about alleged police irregularities linked to public works in Chiclayo.
Source: Google News PE — Crime