House arrest ordered for teenager accused of urging boyfriend to kill classmate

A judge in Corrientes ordered house arrest for the 17-year-old accused of instigating her boyfriend to kill their classmate, Cecilia Lazcano. She will remain confined to her mother’s rented home in Santo Tomé.

The teenager faces charges as the alleged intellectual co-perpetrator of a homicide aggravated by treachery and cruelty. Earlier in the week, the judge accepted the prosecution’s request to charge her but initially rejected pretrial detention. The new ruling imposes a stricter measure while allowing her to remain outside a juvenile detention center.

Under the order, she must leave Alvear, move to Santo Tomé and change schools so she can continue her studies. She may not approach the place where Lazcano was killed. Juan Saucedo, the lawyer representing Lazcano’s family, said he would challenge the decision and renew the request for pretrial detention.

Saucedo said the family’s appeal was based on alleged procedural risks, including flight and interference with the investigation. “This private prosecution challenged the judge’s decision because house arrest does not guarantee effective compliance, and because Santo Tomé, where the minor was ordered to serve the modified detention, is in a border area very close to Brazil,” he said.

Family members, friends and neighbors demanded stricter detention for the accused at a march in Alvear. The 16-year-old accused of stabbing Lazcano is being held at a juvenile detention center in Corrientes city. Lazcano was attacked on July 16 at an abandoned railway station. Security cameras showed her arriving with the boy and later recorded him returning alone. Seriously injured, she sought help at a nearby neighbor’s house, but the resident, frightened, did not let her in and alerted police.

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This private prosecution challenged the judge’s decision because house arrest does not guarantee effective compliance, and because Santo Tomé, where the minor was ordered to serve the modified detention, is in a border area very close to Brazil.