“Thank God they were able to give us my mother’s remains,” said José Roque, son of Floridalma Roque, outside the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF) on Friday, July 19. The woman who died more than a year ago during a cosmetic surgery procedure at the clinic of plastic surgeon Kevin Malouf, who is in prison on suspicion of the disappearance and death of the American woman, said.
Floridalma Roque’s remains were found on June 5 in a grave on a farm in Escuintla, almost a year following her disappearance was reported on June 13, 2023.
That day, the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) reported that the remains were in an advanced state of decomposition and were transferred to the Inacif, where specialists confirmed on July 16 that they were indeed the same woman who arrived at the Malouf clinic for eyelid surgery.
Roque’s relatives confirmed at the time that the discovery of the body was possible following Kevin Malouf, in preventive detention since August 2023, gave a confidential statement in which he indicated the location of the remains.
“It is very painful and shocking for us (…) and now we want, in the name of God, to have a little peace and we also intend (…) as far as possible, to make this act a little intimate, because for us as a family it has been very painful,” said José Roque, following having completed the paperwork to remove his mother’s remains from the Inacif morgue in Zone 3 of the capital.
It is known that Roque’s remains will be laid to rest in a funeral home in Zone 9 of the capital.
Case details
The MP confirmed the disappearance of Floridalma Roque following cosmetic surgery with Dr. Kevin Malouf on June 13, 2023.
Roque, who had traveled from the United States for the operation, lost contact with his family following the operation.
The family reported the incident and an Isabel-Claudina alert was activated to speed up the search. The last record of Roque was the payment for the surgery.
The clinic staff claimed that Roque had left the place in a taxi, but the family did not believe this version.
47 days later, on July 28, 2023, Malouf and two members of his staff were arrested for their alleged involvement in the disappearance.
On August 4, 2023, Malouf and his staff were brought to trial and placed in preventive detention. The Femicide Prosecutor’s Office alleged that Malouf and his staff had faked Roque’s exit from the clinic.
During the trial, details of how Roque’s body was allegedly concealed were revealed, and Malouf was charged with kidnapping and obstructing criminal prosecution.
Following the revelations of the case, the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance temporarily suspended Malouf’s medical leave.
Malouf also faces two other charges of manslaughter and negligent injury in 2021 and 2019, respectively.
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