The crime of Kim Gómez at the hands of offenders aged 17 and 14, after stealing the car she was in, has reignited the debate about the age of criminal responsibility for minors in Argentina. This tragic event has brought back memories of the case of Milagros Belizín, a 2-year-old girl who was murdered by two brothers aged 7 and 9, making the youngest of them the youngest murderer in the country's history.
In May 2008, in the San José neighborhood of Almirante Brown, Milagros was found beaten and strangled after going out to run errands for her mother. Although the younger of the brothers confessed to the crime to his mother and the authorities, both were released as they were considered not criminally responsible due to their age.
The body of the girl was found naked, beaten, and strangled with a cable, in a lot between Chubut and Rosales streets. Eyewitnesses claimed to have seen the brothers carry Belizín to the place where the murder was committed.
The younger brother stated that he participated in the murder but pointed to his older brother as the material author, arguing that he was threatened to participate and keep silent under threats of death. Although there were initial suspicions of sexual abuse, the autopsy ruled out this hypothesis.
Milagros' mother reported that the girl went out to run some errands but never returned; however, the disappearance was not reported to the police immediately. After the crime, local residents reacted violently, smashing a wall of the property where the body was found and attacking the owner's house, considered an unsafe place.
Despite the hypotheses about the possible involvement of an older third individual, nothing could be confirmed in this regard. The community deeply mourns the tragedy and the impunity resulting from the criminal responsibility of the minors involved in such a heinous crime.
