Ingrid Escamilla's femicide found guilty

Feminist groups outside the Reclusorio Oriente, in Mexico City, during one of the hearings against the murderer of Ingrid Escamilla, on September 5, 2022. Andrea Murcia Monsivais (Cuartoscuro)

A judge on Thursday found the murderer of Ingrid Escamilla, Erick Francisco Robledo, guilty of femicide.

Robledo ended the life of the 25-year-old on February 9, 2020. The sentence that Robledo must serve will be defined by the judge on October 17.

The young woman's family has requested in the last two days the maximum sentence that, according to the law, is set at 70 years in prison for this crime.

The case had special repercussions due to the brutality with which the murder was carried out.

The 46-year-old man, a sentimental partner of the girl, stabbed Escamilla in her neck after a fight and then skinned her.

The images of the dismembered body of the young woman were spread through social networks and monopolized the front pages of most of the tabloid newspapers with national circulation, including

and

, from Grupo Reforma.

As a result of the dissemination of those images, the Congress of Mexico City approved the so-called

Ingrid Law”, in 2021, to penalize with two to six years in prison those who disseminate images of fatalities by any means.

In the same direction, the Chamber of Deputies gave the green light to a reform of the Federal Penal Code this year that contemplates even harsher penalties, up to 10 years in prison, for officials and any citizen who disseminates, photographs, copies, publishes images, videos , audio, documents or evidence from a criminal investigation or information related to a victim.

The measure has generated controversy regarding freedom of information and expression in the country.

The massive disclosure of the images of Escamilla's body shocked society, which demanded a stop to this type of explicit publication that violates the dignity of the victims and that of their families.

To date, six agents continue to be investigated for leaking those photographs.

Escamilla's relatives appeared last Wednesday at the gates of the East Prison in Mexico City.

Her mother expressed her hope that Robledo would go to jail.

“The judge listened to both my daughters and me.

In addition, there is a wealth of evidence, "said Escamilla's mother after the magistrate postponed the trial to this Thursday.

The family's legal advisor, Javier Gallardo, has assured that they have presented the evidence collected by the Prosecutor's Office.

"In the allegations there were many things to clarify," said Gallardo, who showed his appreciation to the prosecutor for his work during the case.

Article 325 of the Federal Penal Code sets the maximum sentence for this crime at 70 years.

“Whoever commits the crime of femicide will be sentenced to 40 to 70 years in prison and a 500 to 1,000-day fine,” states the section of the law.

In Mexico there were, until the month of August (date of the last update), a total of 600 registered femicides, according to official data from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System.

Every day more than 10 women are murdered and of all murders, less than 10% are solved.

subscribe here

to the

of EL PAÍS México and receive all the informative keys of the current affairs of this country