Prosecutor Roberto Garrido recognizes mistakes in Erica Hagan murder's investigation
The american psicologist tragically died at the Baptist School in Temuco, Chile, in 2014. A teacher, her husband, son and a friend of him were dismissed early.
Erica Faith Hagan, a 22 years old psicologist came in june 2014 to colaborate to the Baptist School of Temuco in the english class, due to an agreement with the Georgetown College of Kentucky. Here she met the teacher Marta Sánchez, her husband Harold Gutiérrez and her son Eduardo.
Along with Robinson Soto who was friend of Eduardo Gutiérrez, all were dismissed early from the investigation of Erica's murder (june 2015) nine months after the killing of the young psicologist, tough the current regional prosecutor Roberto Garrido thinks it was not "early".
"They were indeed charged, but since no evidence was gathered that would definitively account for their participation as author, accomplice or to cover the crime, it was ultimately decided to request a definitive dismissal", justified at the time the prosecutor Miguel Ángel Velásquez, despite evidence that indicated -at least- the suspicion of their participation and serious contradictions in their stories.
The above is just one of the irregularities or "errors" committed by the then regional prosecutor Cristian Paredes, representing the Public Ministry. Another would have been to not disqualify himself from investigating and request that another prosecutor's office take charge of the investigations.
Teacher Marta Sánchez
"(In Chile) All cases in the region (state) belong to the regional prosecutor, who investigates through deputy prosecutors and the police, although responsibility remains his", a prosecutor from the region told AraucaniaDiario.
The problem is that in addition, the former regional prosecutor Cristian Paredes was father of a student at the Baptist School and in particular, at teacher Marta Sánchez's class, who would have been accused of covering up the investigation.
Only for the above and in protection of the principle of Objectivity, prosecutor Paredes should have disqualified himself. However, he did the opposite and even visited the crime scene the same day the macabre crime was discovered.
Leaves out evidence against Harold Gutiérrez
On the other hand, and as a BBCL Investiga report revealed, within the investigation diligences carried out during the murder investigation, there was found a print of Harold Gutiérrez, but Paredes ordered that evidence to be discarded, according to the former commissar of the Policía de Investigaciones (PDI) Herbert Viveros.
"I clearly remember an order that the regional (prosecutor) gave to the fingerprint expert named Medel, he told him to omit the result of that expert report, since it muddied the Cofré (the man they were condemning but who was innocent) line", said Viveros.
The detective also pointed out that he was prohibited from taking oral swab samples from other suspects and, when a chemical expert report arrived that hindered the investigation against the original suspect accused by the prosecution (Cofré), the prosecutor (Paredes) asked him to modify the date so that his defense would not find out. If what Herbert Viveros reported is accurate, this fact alone would constitute the crime of obstruction of the investigation.
Garrido acknowledges mistakes
And yesterday morning, after being asked by the press, the current regional prosecutor Roberto Garrido acknowledged that the Public Ministry had made mistakes. Errors that allows Erica Hagan's murderers to remain free today.
"... In that case there were evidently many errors, errors that were also determined by the civil court, which determined that there was negligent work by the Public Ministry and the police", the regional prosecutor recognized yesterday.
For the same reason and contrary to what the regional prosecutor Roberto Garrido had previously resolved (he reported his decision not to persevere), the national prosecutor Ángel Valencia informed yesterday -through Garrido himself- that the investigation will remain open and it will be transferred into the O'Higgins regional prosecutor's office (another state), where a Valencias's trusted regional prosecutor -appointed by him- will try to reach the truth of what happened in Temuco, on the fateful night of September 5, 2014.
Translation from Spanish carried out by the team of AraucaniaDiario. We apologize for inadvertent editorial errors.
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