Gabriel Villanueva, sentenced to 20 years in prison for the death of Andreea Celea, said he hopes the media pressure will not win, “but the truth,” during the appeal hearing.
When questioned about his weight loss, he stated that he had kidney problems for which he underwent surgery.
Villanueva, who is serving his sentence at the San Pedro de Macorís Rehabilitation Correction Center, said that he does not complain about the treatment he has received and that they have even allowed him to continue with medical treatment.
This Thursday an appeal filed by Villanueva is known with which he seeks to have his conviction revoked and be released.
The defendant’s lawyer, Marlene Guerrero, said that the appeal seeks a new trial because they understand that there was an incorrect assessment of both testimonial and documentary evidence.
In October 2021, the Court of Appeal had already dismissed another appeal filed by Villanueva for the same purpose.
The problem, my dear ones, is that our criminal justice is becoming a bit populist and mediatic, you are witnesses that this process was plagued by the press from the beginning.
The young Celea died on September 1, 2018 after falling from the eighth floor of a hotel in Santo Domingo.
The Court determined that the victim died due to precipitation by impulse, Gabriel Villanueva being the only one present in the hotel room the night of his death.