The judge of the 'Esther López case' in Traspinedo extends the investigations for six months

He Esther López case is prolonged once again. The head of the Court of Instruction 5 of Valladolid has extended the investigation for six more months into the death of Esther López, 35 years old, in January 2022 in Traspinedo (Valladolid, 1,200 inhabitants). The judge has made this decision, expected by the parties as they have stated in recent weeks, so that both the accusations and the defense of the main accused can carry out new proceedings and present arguments to clarify the event. The extension of the investigation comes less than a month after the judge provisionally released Óscar S., 40, the main suspect in the events, without bail.

The judge has considered, in a resolution sent to the parties and subsequently to the media, that it is appropriate to extend the investigation period because “investigation procedures remain to be carried out.” [por]that although they have already been agreed upon, they could lead to the need to carry out new procedures” that could determine the criminal classification of the facts.

In this way, the period initially planned for the resolution of the case of Esther López – whose body appeared in a ditch after a night of partying – is once again extended, as was already done on June 9, 2023 because the judge had not yet received some documents from those responsible for the investigation.

On December 15, Óscar S. testified again before the person responsible for the case once she had obtained and analyzed the reports from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard, author of studies on what happened in the early morning of December 13. February in Traspinedo (Valladolid). The fatal result of the events is due, according to these meticulous works, to a voluntary accident by her friend, who hit her with the car. To determine this theory, the telephone signals from the man's and woman's devices have been scrutinized, coinciding in most parts of the night and also in the vicinity of the home of the alleged perpetrator, where it is believed that everything happened.

The December appearance did not serve to provide new information about the case. The prosecutor and the defense of the López family insisted on dismantling Óscar's evasions after incriminating him thanks to the telephone connections, but he insisted on his innocence and that he left Esther López on a road that night and that he never heard from her again. her. The judge decided on December 15 to keep the man on provisional release, with the obligation to sign every week at a Civil Guard barracks, and the prohibition of traveling abroad. The defense lawyers demanded unconditional imprisonment for the man from Valladolid while the prosecutor asked for escapable imprisonment with bail, but the magistrate understood that the payment of a certain amount to allow the freedom of the individual did not imply reducing the risk of escape, something that was not has been taken into account since the beginning of the case, even without trial.

Investigation sources point out that the extension of the deadline to incorporate new proceedings or resources may allow the accusations against Óscar S. to be refined, of whom they have strong suspicions due to the resounding results of the telephone geolocations.

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