Wednesday May 3, 2023 | 5:34 p.m.
Surrounded by the warmth of family hugs, especially that of her daughter, whom she left in the care of her grandparents two years ago, Laura Viviana Batista (24) began to design what she considers to be “a new beginning” after being acquitted -for the benefit of the doubt- of the crime of David Anselmo “Napy” Ferreyra (20), which consequently meant his immediate freedom as well as that of his partner, Alexandro Mario Becker (20).
After two years deprived of their liberty in different prison units in the province, both came before the debate instance charged as secondary participants in the murder for which, this morning, Pablo Daniel Espíndola (21) and Darío Alejandro Pio (23) were found guilty and sentenced to 12 years in prison as co-perpetrators.
“My priority from now on is my family, my daughter, growing up around the people who love me and who I love, working, I’m a kitchen assistant, a hairdresser, a manicurist. During these years I asked God to protect my people and that the sentence is fair. That is what finally happened,” said Laura in dialogue with The territoryminutes after the acquittal was declared.
The young woman described her time in prison as “a horrible experience”, pointing out that “if one is guilty, they adapt to the circumstances, they have no other choice, but it hurts a lot when they leave you in jail for years without having done something. This injustice lasted two years”.
In defense of the mother
“From the first moment we had to testify at the police headquarters and later in the judicial sphere, we told the truth and it was very difficult for us to go through all this time. I had to leave my daughter, who suffered a lot, while she was unfairly deprived of my freedom, but despite the anguish I keep going for her and for my family,” he said.
Along these lines, he admitted that “I was waiting for this ending”, and about what was said, he was encouraged to say that if it did not happen “it would be very unfair because there being no evidence or anything, they left me two years in jail, time that no one is going to give me back. “.
Laura reiterated that she came out in defense of her mother after an initial attack by Napy Ferreyra, who ended up stabbed minutes later: “I said it and I reiterate it, the only thing I did was defend my mother, like every citizen who stings his family, ” she clarified and analyzed the statements of some witnesses who placed both her and Becker at the crime scene: “They reported things that did not happen, if I had anything to do with the murder I would take responsibility, but it was all injustice.”
Prior cause and prejudice
During the debate, a previous case related to drug trafficking was exposed for which Batista, nicknamed Chuky, was convicted a few years ago. “The previous cause was the product of necessity, I am a single mother, and it was prostitution or looking for drugs to be able to give things to my daughter. I chose the second option so that my daughter is not told that your mother is this or that and I admit that it was a serious mistake that I regretted, but they judged me and I accepted my sentence, I took charge and paid for it”.
“Many prejudge but I’m not a bad person, the colleagues in the cause know me, the neighbors can also confirm this and even though my nickname is Chuky, it’s because before I used to fight a lot at school, they just call me that as a girl,” she clarified. .
For the moment Batista would go to live at his parents’ house in Posadas, where his daughter who is now 6 years old was. “It cannot be that I have wasted two years of my life for something I never did. I can say that justice was done,” she insisted.
Related notes:
Ferreyra case: one of the defendants declared that she intervened in defense of her mother and detached herself from the murder
Ferreyra case: the main defendant confessed that he stabbed him: “I hit him with a knife out of fright”
Ferreyra case: the prosecution requested sentences of between 15 and 6 years in prison for the four defendants
