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Argentine police officer kills baby daughter, then dies by suicide
🇦🇷 Argentina /Crime & Justice

Argentine police officer kills baby daughter, then dies by suicide

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • A police officer in Argentina killed her infant daughter and then died by suicide in their Avellaneda apartment.
  • The bodies were discovered after a concerned acquaintance reported she could not reach the officer.
  • The incident occurs amid a national discussion about mental health issues within security forces.

A sub-officer of the Argentine Federal Police (PFA) has died by suicide after allegedly killing her infant daughter in their shared apartment in Avellaneda. The bodies of Estefanía Luján Espínola, 33, and her baby, Lucila Jazmín, who was only a few months old, were found by police responding to a welfare check.

I will always carry you in my heart. I can't believe it, sister. I still haven't processed it. My life hurts, sister, I want to wake up from this terrible nightmare.

— Lucas (Estefanía's brother)He expressed his grief and disbelief on social media following the incident.

Responding officers from the Avellaneda Patrol Command discovered the scene at the apartment on Mariano Acosta street after a 911 call from a person close to Espínola, who reported being unable to contact her. Both victims sustained gunshot wounds to the head, and the officer's service pistol was found in her hand. Investigators are operating under the primary hypothesis of a filicide followed by suicide, with the weapon believed to be the officer's service-issued Bersa handgun.

Investigators found no signs of forced entry, ruling out a robbery as a motive. The case is being handled by prosecutor María Laura Carballal. Espínola served in the PFA's Roca Division, based at the Constitución railway station. Her brother, Lucas, posted a heartfelt message on social media expressing his grief and regret over their last interactions.

I'm sorry for fighting with you days before. I will carry that guilt forever, forgive me, sister, because I failed you as a brother, I failed you as a person, I failed you as family... forgive me. I won't stop asking for your forgiveness until you hear me.

— Lucas (Estefanía's brother)He also expressed deep regret over their last interactions.

The tragedy unfolds against a backdrop of increasing concern over the mental health of security force members in Argentina. Minister of Security Alejandra Monteoliva recently stated that suicides among agents and police officers have risen by 30% in 2025 compared to the previous year, acknowledging that federal forces are not immune to this national trend. The government has reportedly reinforced psychological assistance programs for security personnel.

Suicides have increased in the country, and the federal forces are not immune to this reality.

— Alejandra Monteoliva (Minister of Security)She commented on the rising suicide rates among security forces.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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