The statement of an expert from the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (Inacif) provided new details this Tuesday, July 21, about the death of the Canadian citizen Milton Nelson Santamaría and the Guatemalan Eldin Leonel Choc Xi, during the continuation of the trial against seven former agents of the National Civil Police (PNC), accused of alleged extrajudicial execution.
The debate takes place in the High Risk Court B, where the specialist explained the findings of the autopsies carried out on both victims, who died in April 2024 in San Andrés Itzapa, Chimaltenango.
According to the forensic report presented at the hearing, Nelson Santamaría died as a result of a rupture of the abdominal aorta artery caused by direct blunt trauma.
The expert indicated that this injury produces massive hemorrhage and causes death almost immediately.
“Considering the findings during the autopsy, it can be indicated that the cause of the rupture of the abdominal aorta was direct blunt trauma, that is, trauma caused by violent contact between the victim’s body and a traumatic agent, such as a blow caused by a person directly or through the impact of a blunt object,” he declared before the Court.
He added that rupture of the aorta artery “causes death instantly because it produces massive hemorrhage.”
Choc Xi died of strangulation
In the case of Eldin Leonel Choc Xi, the expert indicated that the cause of death was strangulation.
Furthermore, he explained that during the autopsy it was established that the absence of the right hand and the phalanges of the left hand was not a consequence of the action of animals or the natural deterioration of the corpse.
During his statement he responded to one of the queries posed by the parties about the amputations found on the body.
“Regarding the absence of phalanges of the left hand and the absence of the distal third of the right ulna and radius of the corpse of Eldin Leonel Choc Xi, it was a consequence of cadaveric anthropophagy or if it could have been caused by mammals or if they were severed through some type of sharp instrument or similar characteristics, I inform that: the findings during the necropsy procedure carried out on the corpse of Eldin Leonel Choc Xi do not correspond to cadaveric anthropophagy nor amputation caused by mammals, but the findings are suggestive that the phalanges of the left hand and the distal third of the right ulna and radius were severed with a short blunt instrument, without being able to determine exactly which one was used,” declared the specialist.
The findings were incorporated as part of the expert evidence presented during the continuity of the oral debate.
The Human Rights Prosecutor’s Office of the Public Ministry maintains that the victims were subjected to torture before dying and that they were subsequently executed.
For the crime of extrajudicial execution, the following are tried:
- Edy Leonel Vásquez Rabanales, former sub-inspector of the PNC
- Yorleni Lisbeth Macario Ramos
- Yulisa Nabely Ayala Yol
- Mauricio Abraham Contreras Salán
- Fredy Santiago Velásquez Pérez
Besides:
- Jeremías Jacobo Rojas faces proceedings for abuse of authority, breach of duties and denial of assistance.
- Ángel Vásquez Sajbochol is tried for breach of duties, obstruction of criminal action, failure to report and failure to provide assistance.
The MP investigation
According to the investigation by the Public Ministry, Milton Nelson Santamaría, a Canadian citizen, and Eldin Leonel Choc Xi were captured in April 2024 and were subsequently victims of torture before their death.
During the first statement hearing, held on August 13, 2024, the Prosecutor’s Office stated that one of the motivations for the crime would have been an act of homophobia.
As part of the evidence presented in the first statement, the MP played four recordings obtained by a witness who remained near the place where the attacks allegedly occurred. In one of the audios, Choc Xi is heard asking for help.
After that hearing, the judge linked former sub-inspector Edy Leonel Vásquez Rabanales to criminal proceedings for the crime of extrajudicial execution and imposed preventive detention on him.
Vásquez Rabanales was deported to Guatemala on August 5, 2024 by United States authorities, after being captured on June 11 of that year in Arizona. According to US authorities, he entered that country irregularly when he was already wanted in Guatemala for his alleged participation in the deaths of both victims.
Defense rejects the accusations
During the beginning of the trial, Vásquez Rabanales rejected the accusations made by the Public Ministry.
The former sub-inspector, who directed the San Andrés Itzapa police substation at the time of the events, held the agents who captured the victims responsible for the procedure and assured that the case originated from an incorrect police procedure.
He also stated that he does not know what subsequently happened to Nelson Santamaría and Eldin Leonel Choc Xi and denied having participated in the events that cost them their lives.
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