Three years ago, the Supreme Court of Justice of the province of Buenos Aires resolved a case that is only now going to be implemented, according to Gustavo. The Justice of Mar del Plata has ordered blood extraction from eight police officers to determine who the fifth officer involved in the femicide of Natalia Melmann is, the 14-year-old girl who was kidnapped, tortured, abused, and murdered by uniformed officers in Miramar. Her parents have expressed their expectation after 24 years of waiting.
DNA was found on the victim's body that was never analyzed and will be compared with the genetic profile of the eight police officers to identify the fifth officer from the Bonaerense involved in Natalia's crime. A 60-year-old man underwent analysis in February in Trenque Lauquen.
In an interview with the Argentine News Agency, Gustavo Melmann, Natalia's father, mentioned that authorities must locate the suspects and expressed his desire for justice. Natalia's body was found in a nursery in Miramar, and the autopsy revealed signs of torture and abuse. The necropsy indicated genetic traces from five different people, confirming that she was raped by several men.
Several individuals have already been convicted for this heinous crime, but the fourth officer from the Bonaerense, Ricardo Panadero, had been acquitted twice due to lack of evidence. In 2019, the ruling was annulled and a new process was ordered that culminated in 2023, convicting the fourth officer for illegal deprivation of liberty, sexual abuse, and double aggravated homicide, receiving a life sentence. Natalia's family hopes there will be no further delays in achieving justice.
