Trial for the crime of Samuel Luiz: blurred images, conflicting versions and a broken group

It was clear from the viewing of the most critical frames of the lynching that the prosecutor showed the first two defendants to testify—they were Catherine Silva and Alejandro Míguez, the other three will do so at the end of the trial— and in which neither of them recognized each other. They did not even identify the rest of the group’s members. Yes they did In later images in which some of those involved could be seen quite clearly moving through the streets of La Coruñabut regarding the key moment of the attack there was no clarity. Hence the power of the testimonies that throughout the following weeks will resonate in the old Tobacco factory of La Coruña, headquarters of the Provincial Court, and that will underpin the second by second of a skein that is difficult to unravel.

For the moment, the statements of Catherine Silva – girlfriend of another accused, Diego Montaña – and Alejandro Míguez showed the ‘every man for himself’ on which the defenses will be based. The only ones investigated who remain free, their letters seem, a priori, the best. But to distance themselves from the fatal beating of the nurse from A Coruña, they must convince the court that his relationship with the rest was not close as it seemed. Their strategies were parallel and made it clear that, if there was a group of friends one day, that night they broke up. From “it was the first night I went out with them”, by Katy, to “I was just Diego’s friend”, by Alejandro Míguez. Putting distance with those imprisoned is vital to escape accusations of murder. And with that purpose is also understood his decision to testify at the beginning of the trial, while those who are in prison will testify in the last sessions.

In the case of the girlfriend of Diego Montaña, the one most pointed out by witnesses in the investigation phaseher words will have to be measured in the eyes of the jurors with those of Lina, Samuel’s friend who says that he pushed her while her boyfriend attacked his friend, and that Katy also called the deceased a “faggot.” In his favor, Míguez’s unexpected caper plays during his statement when he states that Katy told him not to get involved, that it was Diego’s doing, and that she even tried to separate her boyfriend from the tumult. The images, once again, are not conclusive other than to prove whether she followed the group or not. “I didn’t move, I stayed under a tree crying,” she said when asked by her lawyer, criminal lawyer Luciano Prado. Lina, however, says that she saw Lina “more aggressive than nervous.”

In parallel with the young woman’s movements that fateful night, Míguez repeated on several occasions throughout his statement that he “disengaged” from the fight and the little he saw he did so alone and from a distance. “I disengaged”insisted in several passages of his speech to stay away from the mob that carried Samuel away at the edge of 3 in the morning on July 3, 2021. Neither of the two accused, who were clear about the seriousness of what was happening, they called the emergency services, something they also acknowledged in court. “I didn’t attack anyone”stated Míguez to convey that he initially tried to separate them and then walked away and choose “know nothing”.

A few meters from the former friends with whom they share the bench, and between whom this week not even the slightest exchange of glances could be seen, the first two to testify had no qualms in pointing out those they considered, they agreed, to be guilty of the end. of Samuel. «I see Diego punching a person he didn’t knowhe was falling and he was getting up. There was a crowd surrounding him. Alejandro Freire, alias ‘Llumba’ was holding him by the neck,” Alejandro Míguez recalled of the early morning of the events. In tune with him, and clearly directing the accusation to two of those imprisoned, Katy corroborated this version: «Diego pounces on him, punches him. There was a girl next to them and at that moment Llumba appears and throws him away.

Diego and Llumba

In both cases, the violent behavior of Diego Montaña in the fatal beating is linked to that of his friend, Llumba, whom the witnesses who have already testified at the trial saw Samuel knock down Samuel with the ‘mataleón’ technique. Katy and Míguez mention other names relevant to the death: those of the two minors convicted of the murder, Marco and ‘Pompo’. Katy focused on this when she said that she saw how he hit Samuel “in the temple” with a kind of bar.. The investigation of the case confirmed that this instrument is a weapon of Japanese origin called kubotán that other witnesses also located in the hands of the minor. Questioned about this question, Míguez confesses that he also knew it. He says that Kaio told him the same morning of the crime that the minor had a weapon and that “he had used it.”

When it came to clarifying responsibilities, and to specific questions from the Prosecutor’s Office, the first two defendants to open fire were blunt. Míguez directly accused four people of attacking Samuel: Llumba, Diego, Marco and Pombo. Katy, for her part, supported what was testified: «At the beginning of the attack there were only Diego and Freire. Then a lot of people came running and there was a commotion. They chased the boy». He also revealed, to finish off the attacking group, that Kaio was trying to sell a phone that was not his and that he took from the fight for 100 euros, in reference to Samuel’s cell phone. Kaio is the defendant for whom the most sentence is requested, 27 years in prison, because the violent robbery of the cell phone is added to the crime of murder.

The conclusions of Katy and Míguez before the popular jury failed to move their colleagues on the benchwho attended without gesturing to their involvement in the crime. With his head bowed, Diego avoided looking at the face of his partner. He also did not look up when his friend Míguez placed him at the center of the attack. The other two defendants maintained the same attitude, They barely exchanged a word with their lawyers. The statement of the rest of those involved will not take place for another month, which will give them an advantage to replicate the accusations that may be leveled against them in the coming weeks. There is still a long way to go to solve the puzzle of a case where one thing is clear: Samuel’s life was beaten in six minutes, and his perpetrators must pay.