Lucio Dupuy’s grandmother: “I know they are going to give them an exemplary sentence because this case resonated, we are under the eyes of Argentina”

Silvia Gómez, the paternal grandmother of Lucio Dupuy, the five-year-old boy who was killed on November 26, 2021 in Santa Rosa, La Pampa province, said she is confident that they will give the accused, Magdalena Espósito Valenti – the child’s mother – and her partner, Abigail Páez, “an exemplary sentence,” in reference to life imprisonment. It was a chain of culprits that led to my grandson being where he is. We promised my grandson that there would not be another Lucio and from that we decided to transform our pain into a struggle,” said the woman in dialogue with a radio station in Santa Fe, and in statements broadcast by Telam. With this, Gómez refers to the actions of Judge Ana Clara Pérez Ballester, head of the Family and Minor Court number 1 of General Pico, who denied the paternal family the custody of Lucio, leaving him in the care of Espósito Valenti and Páez. “It was a difficult situation because she (Espósito) made false accusations until the judge revoked her tenure. This judge is the one who signs a paper and signs the death sentence for my grandson, because she does not follow up on him nor did he know about the case,” said Lucio’s grandmother.Silvia Gómez, Lucio Dupuy’s paternal grandmother | Photo: Archive.It is estimated that on February 2 the Superior Court of La Pampa will give the verdict regarding the homicide. In view of the hearing, Gómez assures: “I know that they are going to give them an exemplary sentence because this case resonated and we are under the eyes of Argentina and the world. There are a lot of people hurt by injustice.” At the same time, the woman affirms that she is working to enact the Lucio Law “to try to contain these families with advice.” The neighbors looked to the side with what Lucio had to live “In the framework of the same note, Ramón Dupuy, the paternal grandfather of the child also pointed out the responsibility of Judge Pérez Ballester. “If he had done his job, he would have realized that they asked him to collect the social benefits that were in the pandemic and that they had never been interested in my grandson,” he said. I don’t expect anything because these murderers don’t give it back to me. Whatever they give them, they do not return it to Lucito, but what I do know is that society expects what they deserve, life imprisonment,” he continued, while indicating that “the neighbors looked to the side with what Lucio had to live.” Reviewing what it meant for the family to go through the instances of the trial, Ramón said that “recommendation of the lawyer” they did not attend all the hearings since it was going to “do them wrong” to witness the presentation of evidence, as well as the statement of the accused, among other issues. One of the key witnesses was the forensic doctor Juan Carlos Toulouse, who communicated before the Court composed of judges Alejandra Ongaro, Andrés Olié and Daniel Sáez Zamora, the autopsy report on Lucio’s body, indicating that he died as a result of “internal bleeding” due to a “ferocious beating and injuries in several parts of the body” before “a strong blow that affected his hip, the buttock and leg, 7 to 8 days ago.” In addition, there were signs that he had been a victim of “recent and long-standing” sexual abuse. In turn, the prosecution represented by Verónica Ferrero, Marcos Sacco and María Mónica Rivero, verified from a report requested from hospitals and health centers that Lucio “was treated five times in three months for presenting injuries, some of them serious.” However, no complaints were filed.In case of any situation of violation of the rights of children and adolescents, contact line 102, which provides advice, assistance, and containment free of charge and confidentially.

Original source in Spanish