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Forensics Confirm Fatal Head Blow and Attempted Abortion in María Fernanda Benítez Case
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Crime & Justice

Forensics Confirm Fatal Head Blow and Attempted Abortion in María Fernanda Benítez Case

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • Forensic experts testified that María Fernanda Benítez suffered a fatal blow to the head and showed signs of an attempted abortion.
  • The prosecution presented evidence suggesting maneuvers were used to induce a miscarriage before her death.
  • The primary cause of death was determined to be severe head trauma, though smoke inhalation was not entirely ruled out.

Forensic experts have confirmed that María Fernanda Benítez sustained a fatal blow to the head and that evidence suggests an attempt was made to induce an abortion. These findings were presented during the final stages of evidence production in the oral trial against adults accused of allegedly helping to cover up the crime.

During the hearing, members of the autopsy team, including forensic doctor Carolina Bernal and the Director of Forensic Medicine, Pablo Lemir, testified. Lemir, who also specializes in adolescent gynecology, provided testimony that prosecutors believe strongly supports their hypothesis that maneuvers were used to cause María Fernanda Benítez's pregnancy to end. This testimony is considered crucial scientific backing for the prosecution's theory.

The definitive injury was head trauma caused by a strong blow to the head, where a lesion of approximately ten centimeters was detected.

— Forensic ExpertsDescribing the primary cause of death.

The forensic specialists concluded that the decisive injury was severe head trauma, resulting from a powerful blow to the head that left a significant lesion. While they did not completely rule out the possibility of smoke inhalation contributing, they maintained that the head trauma was the primary factor in her death. The experts also clarified that the detachment of a limb was due to the body's exposure to fire, not a cut, aligning with the prosecution's initial hypothesis.

Furthermore, the medical examiners stated that the adolescent likely died shortly after receiving the blow, before her body was engulfed in flames. They also found no injuries consistent with strangulation. Despite the prosecution's presentation of evidence, the defense has continued to raise procedural incidents during the hearing.

The specialists also clarified that the detachment of an extremity was not the consequence of a cut, but of the intense exposure of the body to fire, coinciding with the hypothesis sustained by the Prosecutor's Office since the beginning of the investigation.

— Forensic ExpertsExplaining the condition of the victim's body after the incident.
DistantNews Editorial

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

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