By majority, the High Risk Court B sentenced Kevin Manolo Rivas Cordón to 70 years in prison for the crime against his cousin, Litzy Amelia Cordon Saved. The judges imposed 35 years in prison for murder and 35 years for plagiarism or kidnapping, after evaluating testimonies, telephone analyzes and other evidence presented during the oral and public debate. During the reading of the sentence, the judge explained that the documentary, testimonial and technological evidence made it possible to reconstruct the events that occurred after Litzy’s disappearance.
The judges highlighted that, after Litzy’s disappearance, several people tried to communicate with her without success. According to the court’s assessment, the telephone surveys made it possible to establish relevant information about the use of lines and devices related to the case.
The sentence was issued five years after the crime that occurred in Teculután, Zacapa. According to the investigation by the Public Ministry, Litzy Cordón, 20 years old and a university student, was kidnapped on October 5, 2020. A day later, her body was located in the Los Pasitos hamlet, in Los Puentes, Teculután.
The court noted that the interviews carried out by the Public Ministry and various documentary reports incorporated as evidence made it possible to reconstruct the events that occurred before and after the disappearance of the young university student. At the end of the hearing, Kevin Rivas Cordón left the room without issuing a statement.
Journalists tried to find out his reaction after hearing the conviction; However, the accused remained silent and did not respond to questions related to the court’s ruling.
The family’s reaction
Litzy Cordón’s relatives, who for years demanded justice for the crime, thanked the judges for their decision.
“Just thank God and justice, which is what we wanted, and all of you. Thank you,” said Edgar Cordón, the victim’s father.
Hours before the sentence was read, Cordón had reiterated that he expected an exemplary sentence against the accused.
“We demand that justice be done. That he be sentenced to the maximum years that the law can give him,” he declared.
He even stated that, if the death penalty exists in Guatemala, it should be applied in cases like that of his daughter.
“If the death penalty could be applied here, it would have also been applied to him. Because just as he kidnapped, raped and killed my daughter, that’s how he should have been too,” he said.
During the hearing prior to the ruling, Amada Quevedo, Litzy’s grandmother, also participated, expressing her confidence that justice would be done.
“God does not leave us ashamed. That’s what I can tell you,” he said.
The crime against Litzy
Litzy Amelia Cordón Guardado was 20 years old and was studying Social Work at the Rafael Landívar University, Zacapa campus.
According to the investigation by the Public Ministry, on the morning of October 5, 2020, he left a home in the Barranca Seca hamlet, Teculután, and went to a house under construction in the La Colina hamlet, Vega del Cobán village, where he used to water plants. That was the last time she was seen alive.
Hours later, relatives began to receive calls demanding Q5 million in exchange for his release. After the complaint, the authorities activated an Isabel Claudina alert and began investigations to locate her.
However, on October 6, 2020, around 6:30 a.m., the young woman’s body was located in the Los Pasitos hamlet, in Los Puentes, Teculután.
The National Institute of Forensic Sciences determined that Litzy died of asphyxiation due to strangulation. In addition, it was established that there were blows, signs of physical violence and sexual assault.
The main accused
Kevin Manolo Rivas Cordón, cousin of the victim, was captured on December 10, 2020 during raids carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office against the Crime of Femicide and the National Civil Police.
On January 4, 2021, he was linked to criminal proceedings and remained in preventive detention while the investigation progressed. The trial began on January 15, 2026 before the High Risk Court B.
During the debate, the Public Ministry maintained that the evidence collected allowed Rivas Cordón to be linked to the kidnapping and murder of Litzy.
The Prosecutor’s Office against the Crime of Femicide requested a sentence of 112 years in prison: 50 years for murder, 50 years for kidnapping or kidnapping and 12 years for rape.
For his part, the supporting plaintiff lawyer, Paolo Rubén Similox, requested a sentence of 120 years when requesting the maximum penalties for murder and kidnapping or kidnapping, in addition to 20 years for aggravated rape due to the relationship between the victim and the accused.
The defense, headed by Francisco García Gudiel, maintained during the trial that there was insufficient evidence to prove Kevin Rivas Cordón’s participation in the events and requested that he be acquitted. However, the High Risk Court B decided to find him guilty and sentence him to 70 years in prison.