Roxana Vargas (c. 1988 – July 2008) was a Venezuelan journalism student at the Universidad Católica Santa Rosa whose body was found on 14 July 2008 with a head wound in the Parque Caiza sector of Sucre Municipality, Miranda State.[1][2] Vargas, aged 19, had last been seen on 12 July. She had been a patient of psychiatrist Edmundo Chirinos from October 2007 to April 2008.[3]
| Murder of Roxana Vargas | |
|---|---|
| Location | Parque Caiza sector, Sucre Municipality, Miranda State, Venezuela |
| Date | c. 12 July 2008 |
Attack type | Homicide |
| Victim | Roxana Vargas (aged 19) |
| Perpetrator | Edmundo Chirinos (convicted) |
| Motive | Undetermined |
| Verdict | Guilty (homicide) |
| Convictions | 20-year prison sentence (September 2010) |
Investigation
editDuring the investigation, authorities reported evidence linking Chirinos with the student's death, including blood stains from Vargas in the psychiatrist's office and a blog kept by Roxana Vargas in which she discussed a romantic relationship with Chirinos.[1][2][4] At Chirinos's residence, investigators reported finding 1,200 photographs and videos of women either naked or in underwear, many of whom were patients of the psychiatrist who appeared to have been sedated or asleep in the consulting room when the images were taken.[3][4][5]
Conviction
editChirinos was detained on 1 August 2008.[1] During the trial, 14 cases of women were mentioned who, according to the prosecution, had been raped by Chirinos while sedated during medical consultations.[4]
In September 2010, the 5th Trial Court of Caracas sentenced Chirinos to 20 years in prison for homicide.[1] Chirinos was incarcerated at Yare III prison.[4][5] During his imprisonment, he suffered a stroke that produced a subdural edema.[3] As a result, he reportedly had difficulty speaking and had to use a wheelchair.[3] When Edmundo Chirinos left prison he was reported by El Universal to have walked out rather than left in a wheelchair, an outcome that the mother of victim Roxana Vargas described as an injustice.[6] In March 2012, he was granted house arrest on grounds of his advanced age.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 De La Rosa, Alicia (24 August 2013). "Falleció el psiquiatra Edmundo Chirinos en su residencia". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- 1 2 "Este sábado falleció el psiquiatra Edmundo Chirinos en su residencia" (in Spanish). Noticias24.com. EFE. 24 August 2013. Archived from the original on 28 August 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 Machado, Sabrina (13 June 2012). "Edmundo Chirinos, el preso de la culpa". Diario Panorama (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 Truelo, Laura Dávila (1 October 2010). "En juicio contra Chirinos fueron mencionadas otras 14 víctimas". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- 1 2 "Furia en Caracas" (in Spanish). tudiscovery.com. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ↑ "Caso Chirinos: «Es una injusticia que le den casa por cárcel al asesino de mi hija»". Reportero24 (in Spanish). 10 March 2012.
External links
edit- "CLAVES | Caso Roxana Vargas: el asesinato que delató a Edmundo Chirinos". El Pitazo (in Spanish). 14 July 2021.
- G, Sarahí (14 July 2021). "A 13 años del asesinato de Roxana Vargas, la víctima del psiquiatra Edmundo Chirinos". El Diario (in Spanish).