Two months after the surprise death of Mauricio Leal, a well-known hairdresser for celebrities and celebrities in Colombia, his case was resolved: this Tuesday his brother Jhonier pleaded guilty to the murder of him and his mother, Marleny Hernández, who was thought, in At first, they had committed suicide.
"I have made an important and very personal decision:
I freely and voluntarily accept the charges
through an agreement with the Prosecutor's Office," said Jhonier, accused of murder aggravated by kinship, state of defenselessness and cruelty, and concealment, alteration and destruction of probative material, according to the Colombian newspaper El Espectador.
"I take this opportunity to make my statement of repentance, asking for forgiveness first of all from my family, my children, the victims and all of Colombia for the events that occurred and to promise that a situation of such magnitude will never happen again," he added.
The body of Leal, a successful stylist who was about to sign collaborations with Miss Universe and Victoria's Secret, and whose premises were only attended by celebrities, television presenters and beauty queens,
was found on November 22,
along with that of his mother,
in his mansion in La Calera, a luxury area near Bogotá, according to the Spanish newspaper El País.
Leal was 47 years old and had a successful career: apparently there was no reason for him to end his life or that of his mother, who was believed to have been stabbed to death.
But the one who
had wielded the knife
was Jhonier and, without realizing it, he left evidence.
The police discovered that the injuries on the victim's body had been caused by a left-handed person and Mauricio Leal was right-handed.
To convince that it was a suicide, Jhonier also wrote a false farewell note, in the name of his brother, which said: "I love you, forgive me, I can't take it anymore. I leave everything to my nephews and brothers. All my love forgive me mom."
Now that the Colombian Prosecutor's Office has heard the murderer's confession, and has compiled interviews, intercepted communications and affidavits that incriminate Jhonier, he must prepare a pre-agreement with his defense so that the benefits he will receive
after having accepted are known.
the charges filed
.
The prosecutor said that releasing Jhonier is not convenient for the process because he could try to influence the testimony of the driver José Yair Ruiz Palacios, to whom he told "that the only thing he was concerned about was appropriating the fortune and money of his brother".
unusual behavior
On the morning of his death, Mauricio Leal told his workers via WhatsApp that he would take the day off;
something unusual about him.
His room, as always, was packed and his regular customers demanded his presence, but Leal made excuses.
Police now know that, by that time of day, the famous hairdresser had been dead for 30 hours and that the one answering the messages was Jhonier, who had not achieved success in business like his brother, and planned to inherit his fortune.
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Jhonier arrived at 2:40 pm at his brother's mansion.
He was accompanied by the stylist's driver, who upon arrival found
the doors of the house closed and an open window
: the one that led to Mauricio's room, in whose blood traces of Zopiclone, a drug to stimulate sleep, were found.
Police later discovered cuts on Jhonier's hands.
At the time, he said that he had done them with scissors.
One crime that led to another
The investigation of the crime gave rise to another on money laundering and illicit enrichment.
The prosecution now indicates that
Mauricio Leal had links to drug trafficking.
He owned three checking accounts with more than half a million dollars and received daily deposits of $50,000.
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Although his business was buoyant, the police believe that it was not good enough to reach those figures.
The suspicion now is that Leal — single and childless — worked for La Gran Alianza, a union of Cali drug traffickers.
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The authorities have already applied a domain extinction to the hairdresser's assets, which allows the expropriation of assets of people involved in illegal activities.
Jhonier longed to be the owner of that patrimony, but the police, and his own confession, prevented him from doing so before he got it.