At the end of the week of hearings in the García Belsunce case, the balance continues to be very negative for Nicolás Pachelo, the neighbor accused of the murder of María Marta. Pachelo saw that the process had been unfavorable, so he came out to speak at the hearing on Thursday, although he did not accept questions. However, he ended up beaten. His axis was that he had no conflict with Carlos Carrascosa and María Marta, but a few minutes before, the dog breeder Florindo Cometto confirmed that Pachelo gave him the dog Tom that had kidnapped Carrascosa and María Marta and for which he asked for 5,000 dollars rescue. Pachelo also took it out on Mariano Maggi who, as a result of a conflict over checks, mentioned the neighbor’s phrase: “If I had the balls to kill my old man, you know what I can do with you.” The neighbor maintained that he signed the checks in front of Maggi so there was no fraud or maneuver, but in an audio that the prosecutors released at the same hearing, Pachelo is heard saying: “I did not sign any of the checks. I want a calligraphic proof.” In other words, a lie was exposed and that had a strong impact on those who were present, including the magistrates.
The neighbor took advantage of the strong conflict with Maggi, owner of a car dealership, to claim responsibility for the death of his father, Roberto Pachelo. “The police came, the tests were carried out, it was proven that it was a suicide, not as the García Belsunce family did.” Roberto Pachelo’s partner, Jacky Barbará, continues to accuse Nicolás for the murder of his father to this day: he says that the expertise might not be done at all because the mattress on which Roberto was lying disappeared, the keys to the box were stolen security and also checks and shares that appeared in the possession of Nicolás. The subject will appear once more in the judgment.
The summary of the week that ended is that it is proven that Pachelo stole, especially on Sundays between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., time of the changing of the guard in El Carmel. It was also found that he was very violent. A police chief, Cristian Magnoli, reiterated this Thursday that Pachelo was the main suspect, but in his statement he went further: “for us, at that time, he was the author.” He also confirmed that prosecutor Molina Pico did not want to know anything regarding this hypothesis and removed them from the investigation.
For Magnoli, the central element of the accusation once morest Pachelo is that the neighbor stole and that in one case, that of the Augé family, he entered armed. Nicolás was a friend of Gastón Augé and on one of his visits to the latter’s apartment, he stole the keys from a board. With those keys he entered the house hooded and Gastón’s mother, Marta María, was there. He threatened her with a gun, robbed her, and locked her in a bathroom. Pachelo confessed that it was him, although he said that it was not him personally, but that he sent “two types of Pilar.” According to the book Pardon Maria Marta, by Pablo Duggan, in that case Pachelo pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery for the use of a previously stolen key, as a necessary participant. He agreed with the prosecutor on an abbreviated trial.
The biggest problem facing prosecutors Patricio Ferrari, Andrés Quintana and Federico González is that they need evidence of a direct link between Pachelo and the crime. They have the neighbor jogging near María Marta at the time of the crime, but maybe they need something else. There are rumors that prosecutors have several wiretaps, ordered by the judge at the time, which might be revealing.
There is still a long way to go, regarding two months of trial. The hearings will continue next Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It may be time for one of the most anticipated witnesses: Carlos Carrascosa.
