The Court of Appeals of San Juan, Argentina, has reduced the life sentence of CONICET scientist Luciana Bustos, who was convicted of the murder of her friend. In the new ruling, the criminal charge has been changed to simple homicide.
Judges Juan Carlos Caballero Vidal, Eduardo Raed, and Benedicto Correa recently announced a surprising modification to Bustos' sentence for the murder of Marcelo José Amarfil. This May, the court had sentenced her for the crime of aggravated homicide due to the relationship between the parties. However, the judges have now decided to charge her with a new classification: simple homicide, which carries a sentence of 8 to 25 years in prison.
According to information from Diario El Cuyo, accessed by the Argentine News Agency, the court dismissed the existence of a romantic relationship between Bustos and the victim, as well as rejected the hypothesis of treachery. Additionally, the appeals filed by the Public Prosecutor's Office and the prosecution, which sought to maintain the charge of doubly aggravated murder, were rejected.
With the new classification, Bustos is now accused of intentionally killing her friend.
Murder of Marcelo José Amarfil
The murder of Amarfil occurred on the night of January 16, 2024. Bustos went to pick up the victim at his house, they went to a bar, and in the early morning of the 17th, they parked near Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Airport, where they reportedly had sexual relations. During the investigation, it was detailed that during the sexual act, Bustos tied the victim's hands to the steering wheel, put a blindfold on him, and then slit his throat and stabbed him six times.
Although when a police officer arrived, Bustos claimed her friend had committed suicide, it was proven that it was a terrible murder. During the trial, the defendant's lawyer maintained that she acted in legitimate defense against an attempted sexual assault, a version that was rejected.
