Monday, February 6, 2023 | 5:30 p.m.
After a long and painful wait, the Oral Criminal Court 1 of the Buenos Aires city of Dolores will announce today the judgment of the trial of the eight rugby players accused of beating the young Fernando Báez Sosa to death on January 18, 2020. at the exit of the Le Brique bowling alley in the town of Villa Gesell.
They are Máximo Thomsen (23), Matías Benicelli (23), Enzo Comelli (22), Blas Cinalli (21), Ayrton Viollaz (23), and Luciano (21), Ciro (22) and Lucas Pertossi (23).
The accused came to trial for the crime of homicide aggravated by treachery and by the premeditated competition of two or more people, which was supported by the allegations presented on January 25 by prosecutors Juan Manuel Dávila and Gustavo García, in addition to the lawyers who represent the parents of the victim.
As this medium has been mentioning, judges María Claudia Castro, Emiliano Lázzari and Christian Rabaia will announce the verdict on the case that shocked an entire country starting at 1:00 p.m. and on January 26 for the crime of the young law student.
As in the initial stage of the guidelines and the allegations, the entire day will be broadcast live directly through the Buenos Aires Supreme Court of Justice through its YouTube channel.
From perpetual to freedom
In this framework, the authorities must determine if the eight defendants will receive a life sentence. In their argument, the prosecutors pointed out that “there were no roles”, but that “everyone did everything, they all agreed to kill Fernando, they all beat him.”
Burlando, a lawyer for the Báez Sosa family, adhered to the prosecutor’s request and maintained that all the defendants had the “will to kill”, that they planned a “manhunt” and that the victim was “shot with blows and kicks”.
“The image of Fernando on his knees asking for mercy. That is the image that for this representation justifies neither more nor less the request for life imprisonment for the defendants, ”he said.
However, through case analysis, the option of distinguishing roles between them was considered. To individualize them in fact and determine different responsibilities. There is even the possibility that some may obtain freedom in a short time.
If the magistrates support what was raised by prosecutors and the injured party and understand that all or some of them are co-perpetrators of the same crime, the penalty that falls to them is life imprisonment. In case the court considers accredited only one of the aggravating circumstances, the penalty will also be life for those who are found criminally responsible as co-authors.
Absolution
On the other hand, if for the judges there is an inconsistency, the ruling will result in acquittal.
This sentencing option was raised by the defense attorney for the eight defendants, Hugo Tomei, who in his plea stated before the Court that his defendants be acquitted since there was an inconsistency between the original accusation with which he came to trial and the one that prosecution raised in its plea. Besides. He requested the annulment of the seizure of the cell phones and clothing of the defendants at the time of their arrest, and dedicated part of his argument to questioning different procedures of the case and the media treatment received for the event.
From 2 to 6 years in prison
On the other hand, there is the possibility that the sentence is labeled as homicide in a fight.
It is called that way when a group of people kill another but it is not possible to determine who ended the life of the victim. Therefore Tomei requested that, in case of being convicted, his defendants be accused of a murder in a fight. As the eight defendants have been in pretrial detention for three years, it would allow all of them almost immediate access to conditional release.
However, according to the evidence presented in the thirteen hearing days, the Prosecutor’s Office and the complaint reconstructed the attack that lasted 45 seconds and was able to identify the role of each defendant. In the fatal beating, Enzo Comelli could be located as the one who gave the first blow, together with Ciro Pertossi: one in front and one behind. It is when Báez Sosa falls to his knees to the ground. Blas Cinalli appears behind Ciro, just like Ayrton Viollaz.
In the video you can see one more person who kicked Fernando. Prosecutors pointed to Matías Benicelli but said they were not too certain. On Benicelli’s clothes and on one of his shoes they found the victim’s DNA.
Máximo Thomsen, the most compromised of the eight due to the statements of the different witnesses, can be seen in the images that is on Fernando when he was lying on the floor.
On the other hand, Luciano Pertossi alternates between hitting Báez Sosa and hitting his friends who were trying to defend him. His cousin, Lucas, filmed until the first hit. He then joined the beating. That is why for the accusing parties all were the cause of the young man’s death.
Regarding the eight young men accused of beating Fernando to death, they followed all the trial hearings in person, and will do the same during the reading of the sentence. Thomsen, Cinalli, and Ciro, Lucas and Luciano Pertossi testified before the judges from the second week of hearings, while Comelli, Viollaz and Benicelli chose not to do so.
In any case, the group apologized to the victim’s family and stated that they were “sorry” for the incident. Some of them assured that “there was no plan to kill.”
Fernando’s mother also expressed some last words before the court during the defense arguments day. She maintained with evident sadness: “The truth is that I never thought that he would be in this place. I always thought that one day my son would graduate and I would be watching how he would defend people, but never that I would be witnessing my son being murdered. Let them pay for what they did.”
Regarding the hearing that will take place in TOC 1 of Dolores, the young man’s parents are expected to be present, as they did throughout the oral debate.
On the other hand, the judges will define, in turn, in this instance, the request of the prosecution to initiate a case for false testimony for Juan Pedro Guarino – accused at the beginning of the case and dismissed in April 2021 – and Tomás Colazo -who was never accused, but was mentioned by the individual victim as “suspect number 11”- because he considered that they evidenced contradictions when declaring in the debate.
As for the eight defendants, who have been detained since the day of the crime and have been in pretrial detention since February 14, 2020, they have been housed since the beginning of the trial in Penal Unit 6 in Dolores, after being referred from Alcaidía 3. from the Melchor Romero prison.
Other rulings proposed by Hugo Tomei
According to the penal code, the preterintentional homicide is when with the purpose of causing damage to the body or health of another person their death occurs. It is taken into account that the means used should not reasonably have caused death.
In that case, the defendants could also be released from prison.
Finally, he proposed that they be sentenced for a “simple homicide with eventual intent”: the defendants must have thought that they could cause his death and, knowingly, they continued with their actions. If the judges convict the defendants for this crime, there could be the option of imposing a sentence of 8 to 25 years on each one.
