The thud of what appeared to be a gunshot filled the room. The peeling walls and broken tiles, stained with drops of blood, were the only witnesses to that great tragedy. With his breath ragged and his hands cuffed, the actor and presenter Luis Ríos asked his lover, Darío Caballero, for help so that he would not let him die.
With his heart racing and anguish running through his veins, Caballero did everything possible to call an ambulance and save the love of his life. Or at least that was what he repeatedly argued before the Prosecutor’s Office.
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This was the last moments of one of Paraguay’s most beloved television presenters, who died on the afternoon of September 17, 2003 in an abandoned branch of the financial entity Multibancobetween Artigas Avenue and Molas López Street, in Asunción, the capital of Paraguay.
The case that filled the headlines of several Paraguayan media and implicated two security guards, the wife of one of them and a successful communicator, caused the country to be shocked by one of the darkest stories.
Luis María Ríos Riveros: the brilliance of a nation
Making people laugh is not an easy job. In fact, there are those who say that comedy is more difficult than terror and that is why jobs in which getting a smile is the main objective can be considered something for the brave.
And Luis Ríos was certainly one of them. Born in Asunción on April 11, 1967, the young man managed to captivate more than one due to his physique and charisma.
With his white smile, small eyes and radiant personality, the actor managed to fill the hearts of hundreds of Paraguayans with happiness who accompanied him in his career for many years.
It all started in 1984 when he was first introduced to the spotlight thanks to his role as a harlequin in Shakespeare’s classic ‘Hamlet’. Since then, he has been delving into the world of theater and little by little he has gained his place in the guild, participating in great theatrical works such as ‘El globito’, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ or ‘El duende a rayas’, which were great works acclaimed by the Paraguayan cultural scene.
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Likewise, another of his great works were the comedies ‘Zapping’ ‘Zapping II’ and ‘Holachiquilichingui’, in which he was accompanied by the actress and producer Eliana Delgadillo.
Years later, in 1993, together with the artists Félix Fleitas, Juan Carlos Cañete, Regina Banchero and Mónica Pérez, he also presented works such as ‘The Little Prince’, ‘Divorced, evangelical and vegetarian’ or ‘Around the world in 80 days’.
By that time, the actor was at his peak. His name resounded in the show business of the country and the media acclaimed his great talent, especially for the appearances he had in several soap operas. In this context, he was given the opportunity to participate as a jury in several survival programs and, additionally, he was a presenter in several radio programs.
In January 2001, he began his cycle in the program ‘De boca en boca’ broadcast by the Paraguayan radio station ‘Radio city’ and later worked as a host for ‘Trapped’ in its radio version on the station 1000 AM.
But, unfortunately, this young man’s artistic dream ended at the age of 36, when an encounter that should have been loving and passionate ended in tragedy.
a fateful encounter
It was a sunny Wednesday when Luis finished announcing ‘Atrapados’. Hours earlier, he had arranged to meet one of the most important people in his life: Darío Alejandro Caballero.
For a few months, the two had maintained a relationship in secret, away from the cameras and the world of entertainment. At that time, Caballero was 23 years old -13 years younger than Ríos- and provided his services as a security guard for the Multibanco company. He was married, had no children, and had been cheating on his wife with the celebrity for some time.
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Now, despite the fact that Luis enjoyed great financial stability, Dario, for his part, had quite a few debts to cover, which is why he had asked his lover for a loan.
According to subsequent investigations, the Prosecutor’s Office said that the amount he had requested It was less than one million guaraníes, which would be approximately 600,000 Colombian pesos.
However, despite having a good income, Ríos did not have that amount of money and it was impossible for him to get it so quickly. In exchange, he decided to buy a wallet to take as an apology to the man he loved.
And indeed. The appointment was at 3:00 pm in the bathrooms of the abandoned Multibanco building in Asunciónplace where they would meet to exchange the goods, but instead, the guard was surprised with something totally different.
The two bullets that ended the life of the actor
Full of rage and impotence at the situation, the young man turned around, ready to leave the bathroom. According to the testimonies given before the courts, at that moment he felt angry for what his partner had done: give him something material instead of the requested sum of money.
It was at that moment that Luis decided to hug him from behind, preventing him from leaving while saying words of love. But that was not enough to protect him from the two bullets that would put an end to the script of his life.
Quickly and without thinking twice, Caballero drew his gun and shot the acclaimed artist. The first shot was received by his right arm, and then passed through and embedded in the victim’s chest, thus generating a perforation in his lungs.
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But the impact was such that he stumbled, fell to the ground, and in a couple of seconds received a second shot. This time on his face, more precisely on the cheekbone. Despite this, the perforation in the lungs was the true cause of death.
The deafening sound of the shots caused the place’s alarm to go off, but it was quickly deactivated by the perpetrator. It was then that he tied him to a chair, worried that he might get up at any moment. Once secured, he left the bathroom, deactivated the alarm and in turn He met Elvio Riquelme, the guard who had come to replace his shift.
Frightened, Caballero told him that he had accidentally injured a civilian and that he needed to be helped. But it was not a conventional aid. While Luis gave his last breaths, Elvio told him to call an ambulance, not to let him die there. His testimony also indicated that Ríos managed to beg him for the same, which is why Dario pretended to do so, preventing either of them from being able to do anything else.
But Riquelme was smart and knew that his partner was faking it. “I’m going to buy a knife and with that I’m going to kill him in silence”, he said, with the excuse of being able to escape from that place.
Once outside, he ran to his uncle’s house and alerted the authorities about the situation. At the same time, Darío had already realized his betrayal and decided to call his wife Antonella Noemí Campos to help him hide the body.
When the woman arrived Darío asked him to go to the Ycuá Bolaños supermarket, which was less than five minutes away., in order to buy garbage bags, packing tape and other things. Full of questions, Campos went out and returned with the order, only to find a dead man tied up in the bathroom.
I’m going to buy a knife and with that I’m going to kill him in silence
Her husband told her that Riquelme had been truly responsible for the tragedy, but that it was up to them to hide the body.
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However, this was never carried out, because at 8:00 pm, when night had already fallen, the authorities raided the place, capturing the two suspects in the act.
The sentence: 14 years in prison
The police managed to prove that Darío Caballero was the perpetrator of the crime, since it was found that both hands of the guard had traces of gunpowder, so there was no doubt that it was he who fired. In addition, the security cameras showed the arrival of Luis Ríos and the entire sequence that took place on the night of September 17.
The trial court sentenced Caballero to 14 years in prison for simple homicide and his colleague, Elvio Riquelme, sentenced him to one year in prison for failing to provide assistance.
“Regarding the cruelty with which the convicted persons allegedly acted, it should be noted that according to the facts proven in court, the defendants have not tortured or subjected the victim to severe pain that increases their suffering and the alleged torture psychological alleged by the complaint is not such, since it has not been proven that the condemned have humiliated”, the ruling was written, explaining the reason for the years in prison.
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The sentences, which were confirmed by the Chamber of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Justice, were fulfilled in the Tacumbú prison.
Even so, in September 2017, the security guard served his sentence and has remained out of the public eye ever since.
Secondly, Antonella Noemí Campos, partner of the murderer, was totally disconnected from the case because he only reached the scene of the crime, almost at the same time as the Police.
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LAURA NATALIA BOHORQUEZ RONCANCIO
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