The US recovers remains of the Chinese balloon but rules out returning them to China

-Maximum Thomsen (23), life imprisonment, as co-perpetrator of “doubly aggravated homicide by the premeditated contest of two or more people and treachery, in an ideal contest with minor injuries.”

He was born on November 27, 1999. He was a student in the physical education faculty and wanted to be a high-performance kinesiologist. He was taken by force from the “Le Brique” nightclub in Villa Gesell and in the trial was pointed out by witnesses as one of those who kicked Fernando in the headwhen he was already fallen on the ground.

Testifying in court, he said that “never” had “intentions to kill someone” but he recognized as his own the shoe with the victim’s blood that left its mark on the face of the murdered young man.

He apologized to Fernando’s family, and in his last words before the sentence he stated: “I never thought something like this could happen. I wish I could go back in time and reverse all of this. I am very sorry.”

-Ciro Pertossi (22), life imprisonment, as co-perpetrator of “doubly aggravated homicide due to the premeditated cooperation of two or more people and for treachery, in an ideal competition with minor injuries” -Enzo Comelli (22): life imprisonment, as co-author of “doubly aggravated homicide due to the premeditated by two or more people and treachery, in an ideal competition with minor injuries.

​He was born on May 8, 2000. Witnesses identified them as one of the first to hit the victim in front of the bowling alley. The prosecutor’s office and the lawyers for Fernando’s family considered it proven that he punched him “treacherously” from the right, and then continued hitting him when he was already on the floor.

Images contributed to the case and exhibited at the trial show him “licking his fingers” with blood when he was intercepted by police personnel. He was the one who, almost an hour and a half after the attack, wrote in the WhatsApp group that he shared with the rest of the group: “Guys, don’t tell anyone about this”. Fernando’s blood was found in his pants.

When testifying at the trial, he confirmed that he was the one who appeared in one of the videos that captured the attack, but said that he did not kick the victim because he noticed that she was lying on the floor and restrained himself.

-Blas Cinalli (21), 15 years in prison, as a secondary participant in “doubly aggravated homicide by the premeditated contest of two or more people and treachery, in an ideal contest with minor injuries.”

​He was born on April 18, 2001. He was the only defendant who was not specifically mentioned by any witness, but traces of DNA compatible with his genetic profile were found under a fingernail of the victim. For the prosecution, “There is no doubt” that he was one of the direct attackers.

According to screenshots shown at the trial, after the crime he exchanged messages with a friend, to whom he wrote: “We quarreled. We won against some cheetos, we broke them”, “I think we killed one”, “We hit one with the ‘perto’, we reloaded it with a stick, but badly. We came running home”, “I just want to drink wine and smoke flowers”.

When declaring, he said that “there was no plan” and that “at no time” did he hit the victim. In his final words, he said: “I want to apologize to all the people affected by what happened. It is something that hurts a lot to this day.

-Enzo Comelli (22), life imprisonment, as co-perpetrator of “doubly aggravated homicide by the premeditated contest of two or more people and treachery, in an ideal contest with minor injuries.”

He was born on February 25, 2000. When he was arrested, he had a “bruise on his lower lip.” Witnesses recognized him as the other defendant who initially attacked Fernando, in his case from the left. A friend of the victim stated that that blow “brought him to his knees.”

According to the accusation, with this attack “almost in unison” Comelli and Ciro Pertossi managed to “catch him off guard.” Before the allegations began, the Buenos Aires Penitentiary Service (SPB) seized his cell phone and that of Blas Cinalli, for alleged interactions with accounts that supported them on Instagram.

He was one of three who did not testify at trial. In his last words before the court, he asked for “pardon” from Fernando’s family and also his own, and “all the people affected by this aberrational event.”

-Luciano Pertossi (21), life imprisonment, as co-perpetrator of “doubly aggravated homicide by the premeditated contest of two or more people and treachery, in an ideal contest with minor injuries.”

​He was born on January 29, 2001, he is the youngest of the group. He is Cyrus’s brother. He was recognized by witnesses as one of Fernando’s attackers. A young woman testified in the case that she was the one who said “be calm, I’m going to take it as a trophy”, while she hit the victim in the face. Traces of Fernando’s blood were found on his clothes.

According to the prosecution, in the footage shown at the trial it is seen that he participates in the beating. He was the first to break the silence at the trial, only to deny that he was the one who appeared in those images.

In his last words, he apologized to the victim’s parents, and said that he “never” wanted to “participate in a fight in which a person dies.” “I apologize for everything bad. What you decide is going to be the right one. I ask God that it be something good for everyone, ”he expressed before the judges.

-Lucas Pertossi (23), 15 years in prison, as a secondary participant in “doubly aggravated homicide by the premeditated contest of two or more people and treachery, in an ideal contest with minor injuries.”

He was born on February 25, 1999, he is the oldest in the group, and he is the cousin of Luciano and Ciro. He is a safety and hygiene technician. He filmed with his iPhone the moment they were expelled from the club and then the start of the attack, until he stopped recording the beating, according to the prosecution’s understanding, to join the attack.

After the crime, he sent an audio to the rest of the defendants: “I am here near where the kid is and they are all there shouting, the police are there, they called the ambulance… it expired“. When testifying at the trial at the last hearing, she said that he used to record different scenes with her cell phone, and that is why they nicknamed him “Croniquita” and “Influencer attempt”.

According to the prosecution, “apart from attacking Fernando, he is one of the people who also frees the area so that the attack can be carried out.” He also apologized to Fernando’s family in his final words, he said he was “very sorry for everything that happened” and “very sad for everything that happened.” He further noted: “I never intended to kill anyone or participate in a murder.”

-Matias Benicelli (23), life imprisonment, as co-perpetrator of “doubly aggravated homicide by the premeditated contest of two or more people and treachery, in an ideal contest with minor injuries.”

​He was born on November 5, 1999. He worked in a body shop and paint shop. He was the one who opened the door to the police at 10:30 a.m. on January 18, 2020, when the arrest of the group was ordered at the house he rented in Gesell.

One witness placed him as a “direct aggressor” of Fernando, another placed him “also attacking a friend” and a remainder identified him as the one who was yelling at the victim. “let’s see if you hit again, black shit”.

He also did not declare during the oral debate, and only expressed himself at the time of the last words: “I want to apologize to Fernando’s family. I never wanted this to happen. I never intended to kill anyone. I think about it every day. I wish I could go back in time.”

-Ayrton Viollaz (23), 15 years in prison, as a secondary participant in “doubly aggravated homicide by the premeditated contest of two or more people and treachery, in an ideal contest with minor injuries.”

He was born on May 9, 1999. He is an electromechanical technician. He is the only one in the group who did not have a cell phone at the time of the trip to Gesell. For the prosecution, he was the one who gave “the attack signal.”

Lawyer Fernando Burlando, representative of the victim’s parents, pointed in the same direction: “He proceeds to give the order that will initiate the attack: ‘It’s now, come on, it’s now’”. Witnesses identified him as one of those who prevented Fernando from being helped.

Prosecutor Juan Manuel Dávila maintained that “there is no doubt” that he was another of the direct aggressors, which would be related to injuries he had on his knuckles when he was arrested. He chose not to testify during the trial. At the time of his last words, he asked “forgiveness to Fernando’s family” and was “very sorry for everything.”