This Sunday, July 5, marks five years since the discovery of the body of Melisa Palacios; Meanwhile, María Fernanda Bonilla and José Luis Marroquín, accused of the crime, are still awaiting trial.
The case of Melisa Palacios It dates back to July 4, 2021, when the victim disappeared after leaving his home in San Jorge, Zacapa.
Her mother reported that the young woman was wearing an olive green dress and white tennis shoes, and that she had warned that she would be picked up by a friend’s brother.
The next day, his body was located in an unpopulated area of Río Hondo, Zacapa, in conditions that showed extreme violence.
According to the investigation, the suspects in the murder are Bonilla and Marroquín, who, after the evidence presented, were sent to trial.
The investigation by the Public Ministry revealed that one day before the crime, on July 3, 2021, María Fernanda Bonilla had a conversation via WhatsApp with her bodyguard, José Luis Marroquín, in which they planned to take the victim to a secluded place to take her life.
The evidence presented by the investigating entity includes audio messages, surveillance camera records and testimonies from Melisa’s friends, which reconstruct the young woman’s journey from the moment she boarded the vehicle until the moment she was taken to the unpopulated area where the crime occurred.
According to the forensic report, Melisa was first suffocated, then dragged into the field and, post mortemreceived a blow to the skull caused by a stone soaked in blood.
When will the trial be?
Bonilla and Marroquín’s defense has filed a series of legal appeals during the process; however, Both will go to trial, scheduled for December 2027, according to a court resolution.
The date was set after a long judicial process, in which there were multiple appeals, including challenges against judges, reclassification of the crime and transfer of the judiciary, since originally the case was heard in a court in Chiquimula.