Nearly three years after the fact, the investigation has reached this stage with an accusation that has been restructured over time and now focuses on the supply of narcotics, the provision of a place for their consumption, and the aggravated abandonment of a person, resulting in death. The case is marked by a scene involving drugs, alcohol, a sexualized atmosphere, and an inconclusive reconstruction of events.
Exclusive audio and information about the Retiro murder: Links between the young victim, a costly pickup truck, and Governor Kicillof. The early morning that ended in tragedy occurred on March 30, 2023, in a sixth-floor apartment on Libertad Street in the Recoleta/Retiro area. Rodrigues had arrived at the after-party, convened by Juliana Magalhaes Morao, also Brazilian and linked to the host.
Buenos Aires, February 18, 2026 - Total News Agency - TNA - The case into the death of Brazilian model Emmily Rodrigues Santos Gomes is back at the center of the Buenos Aires judicial scene with a key detail: businessman Francisco Sáenz Valiente is set for an oral trial as the sole accused elevated in the case, but the plot remains surrounded by questions that span from the origin of the money found in the victim's apartment to the exact circumstances of the fall.
As the investigation progressed, the Public Prosecutor's Office refocused the case on a hypothesis of abandonment of a person and drug supply, and in late January 2026, it formalized the request to elevate the case to trial. The elevation was driven by the National Prosecutor's Office in Criminal and Correctional Matters No. 10 and the UFEM (Specialized Federal Unit for Violence Against Women), under the direction of prosecutor Mariela Labozzetta, with the participation of prosecutor Alberto Gentili.
The formal sequence established in the file includes 911 calls made by Sáenz Valiente and other women present. At this point, the trial appears as the first institutional forum with the real capacity to order contradictions and test testimonies and expert evidence before a tribunal. However, even with the case on track, it retains four enigmatic cores that run through the investigation.
The first mystery is that of the money: the appearance of about 90,000 dollars in the apartment where Emmily lived, in a building in Caballitos on Doblas Street. Judge Fernando Caunero validated the businessman's referral to trial at the beginning of this month, while the complainants were represented by the victim's parents, Catia and Aristides, with their own legal representation.
The circuit of the money, the intervention of third parties in the property, and the subsequent delivery of assets to the victim's father raised elementary questions: where did that sum come from, why was it not documented in the victim's formal economic profile, and how were sensitive belongings managed in the hours following the death.
The second enigma is that of a possible sexual context. The father's complaint, on the other hand, maintains that there was no outburst and remains anchored in a murder hypothesis. The defense of the accused, made up of lawyers Facundo Orazi and Rafael Cúneo Libarona, is pressing for the oral trial to be set as soon as possible.
The absence of conclusive clinical records and the lack of a univocal reconstruction of the final minutes keep the most sensitive point open: whether it was an accident, a conduct induced by intoxication, a situation of unassisted danger, or a violent act.
With Sáenz Valiente at the doors of the oral trial and the case having become an uncomfortable symbol of the blurred line between partying, drugs, and criminal liability, the upcoming trial will finally seek to answer what the file has not yet managed to close: where the money came from, what really happened that night, if there was a forced administration of substances, and above all, what happened at the window that ended with Emmily Rodrigues dead.
The third mystery revolves around the phrase "they're sticking me" and a syringe seized at the scene. The prosecution spoke of an "alteration" of her psychological state in the hours prior, with an abrupt change in behavior and erratic episodes, and linked it to the consumption of narcotics offered during the party. The accusation described a "sexualized" scenario and stated that the victim was semi-nude, with elements found in the apartment—used condoms, sex toys, and a massage table—and with the host himself in underwear or partially naked.
Sáenz Valiente denied having sexual relations that night, and one of those present testified that she did not receive any advances. A witness—who presented herself as the victim's close friend—was exposed by camera footage and by cross-accusations that led to complaints for false testimony and alleged destruction or concealment of evidence.
The fourth—and most decisive—mystery is the fall. The first 911 call was recorded at 9:13, a time that investigators consider crucial because it opens the debate on the delay in requesting help in a context in which, according to the accusation, the victim's condition already showed a deterioration incompatible with her self-determination.
The autopsy ruled out signs of sexual abuse, while examinations of seized condoms reportedly did not detect traces compatible with human semen or blood, which fuels the discussion about what really happened and what part of the "climate" of the after-party translates into verifiable facts.
The third mystery revolves around the phrase "they're sticking me" and a syringe seized at the scene. The prosecution spoke of an "alteration" of her psychological state in the hours prior, with an abrupt change in behavior and erratic episodes, and linked it to the consumption of narcotics offered during the party. The accusation described a "sexualized" scenario and stated that the victim was semi-nude, with elements found in the apartment—used condoms, sex toys, and a massage table—and with the host himself in underwear or partially naked.
Sáenz Valiente denied having sexual relations that night, and one of those present testified that she did not receive any advances. A witness—who presented herself as the victim's close friend—was exposed by camera footage and by cross-accusations that led to complaints for false testimony and alleged destruction or concealment of evidence.
There is, at this point, no complete and agreed-upon explanation for what pushed Emmily to throw herself out the window. However, the discovery of a syringe with a colorless substance and the detection of traces of ketamine in that evidence reinforced the suspicion that there may have been some type of unconventional administration. In 2023, the investigating judge Martín Del Viso ordered the businessman's release due to lack of merit, at a stage when it was debated whether there were sufficient elements to support a more serious charge.
The autopsy, performed by forensic doctor Héctor Di Salvo, identified numerous external injuries but none clearly compatible with a typical injection puncture. In one of the communications, the cry of "they're sticking me" is heard, and in another the phrase "you're going to fall!" before the fatal moment.
