Monday, February 6, 2023 | 3:30 p.m.
Almost five months after the death of Natanael Morgenstern, the 12-year-old boy who was fatally shot in the chest in the middle of a gathering he had with friends, mostly teenagers, in a house in the Nuevo neighborhood of Jardín América, the The cause investigating this serious episode had important news in recent weeks.
And it is that according to what spokespersons involved in the investigation reported, the 19-year-old who is accused of being responsible for the shot, and who was a fugitive from Justice for several weeks, will continue to be detained as the only one involved in the file.
The spokespersons consulted by this morning newspaper indicated that Judge Roberto Sena, head of the Second Investigating Court of the aforementioned town, recently ordered preventive detention for Juan Ramón “Koki” Rodríguez (19), who was named by several witnesses cited in the case as the alleged perpetrator of the shot.
It also transpired that the signing of the order to extend the detention period of the suspect bears the legal classification of simple homicide.
On October 12, after being intensively searched for in different parts of the province, Koki decided to make himself available to Justice.
Accompanied by his mother and a lawyer, the young man turned himself in before members of the IX Regional Unit to later undergo a medical examination.
A day later, he appeared before the judge and the prosecutor Jorge Fernández to whom he decided to give his version of the facts.
Alibi
As this medium published at the time, the accused expressed in broad strokes that he did not remember much in relation to the moment of the shot.
He indicated that during the early hours of Sunday, September 18, he was drinking wine and smoking marijuana with a group of boys. And that a while later, when he regained consciousness, he found himself in a mountain area, where he doesn’t know how he got there either.
At that time, the young man was accused of the strong accusation that falls on his shoulders and days later Judge Sena rejected a request for release presented by his defender.
He is currently housed in a penal unit under the Provincial Penitentiary Service (SPP) waiting for his procedural situation to be resolved.
shot and run
The incident for which Koki is being investigated occurred on Sunday, September 18, in a house in the Nuevo neighborhood of Jardín América where a brother of the detainee lives.
According to the investigations, both Nathanael and a cousin spent much of that early morning sharing a meeting with acquaintances and friends in a square in that neighborhood.
Under these circumstances, around 4 in the morning they went to the home where Koki was visiting and continued with the meeting.
What is believed is that at one point and in full assembly, the suspect pulled out a firearm and began to manipulate it in front of those present.
There, for unknown reasons, Koki fired a shot that hit the little boy. The day had already arrived and the shot woke up those present in the house.
Despite the fact that the homeowner came out to help the minor in the yard, nothing could be done in the face of requests for help.
The bullet hit the left side of the chest and the man was seen alone with his body in the patio of his house as those who participated in the meeting ran away scared.
As the investigation progressed, it was learned through police sources that Rodríguez has a history of weapons abuse and that apparently in the past he had had an incident of similar characteristics involving the handling of a firearm in which another adolescent was injured, although fortunately it was not serious.
