The Public Ministry will have to look for how to prove the accusations of the confessed serial killer of women from Villa Altagracia, Nazario Mercedes, beyond his self-incrimination, since the Supreme Court of Justice has established the criterion that the statements of an accused alone They are not sufficient to establish a conviction.
Judge Sudelgi Rosario Mena, of the Judicial Office of Permanent Care Services of Villa Altagracia, who yesterday imposed three months of preventive detention against Mercedes for the beating death of her partner Yésica Figueroa (Gisell).
The level of evidence required by the Dominican adversarial system requires more than one confession to convict an accused.
Nazario Mercedes had confessed to the Police to have committed at least five femicides and the attempted murder of a sixth woman.
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His lawyer, Juan Moreno Severino, pointed out that, although his client has confessed to these crimes before the Police, these statements are not valid because they were made without the presence of his legal representative.
Among the alleged victims are Providencia Deyanira Castillo Santana (Yanet), in 1995; Diana Carolina Lorenzo Medina, in 2008; Rosa María Peralta, in 2014 (who survived); Darmelin de los Santos Ramírez, in 2022; an unidentified Haitian woman, in 2023; and finally Yésica Figueroa Carmona, on Wednesday, November 6, 2024.
In the case of Yésica, he narrated how he had beaten her to death and stated that he acted together with Obispo Carmona Moreta, the victim’s uncle, who was also imposed preventive detention.
The Permanent Attention Court of Villa Altagracia imposed preventive detention on Nazario Mercedes for the death of his partner Yésica Figueroa.
Both were brought to justice for the death of Figueroa, after they were arrested on November 6, around 7:00 at night, on the main street of the Los Arroyones area, in the Villa Altagracia municipality, in San Cristóbal. .
In relation to the case, the Public Ministry indicated that the victim was hit with a stick several times on the head, resulting in contusion and cerebral hemorrhage, injuries that caused hypovolemic shock that caused his death, according to the body removal report No. 88678, dated 6 November 2024.
