Prosecutors reconstruct Lizeth Bunshi’s disappearance in Quito as family seeks femicide investigation

The investigation into Lizeth Bunshi’s disappearance has entered a new phase after prosecutors recovered her body from the Machángara River. On Sunday evening, officials planned to retrace the events of July 19 in Quito’s Cumandá sector, near the limits of the historic center.

The exercise is intended to establish a clearer timeline and test the accounts gathered during the investigation. Prosecutors are expected to compare the movements and timing with witness testimony, security-camera footage and the physical features of the area.

Bunshi, a 28-year-old stylist and mother of a nine-year-old boy, left her father’s home in El Tingo to meet her boyfriend and other people. Investigators say that after an argument, she remained with Cristian Gonzalo V. L., a friend of her partner. The two were later located near a ravine connected to the Machángara River.

Cristian Gonzalo V. L. remains detained and is the only person prosecuted in the case. The reconstruction is meant to determine whether his account matches other evidence in the file and whether prosecutors need to order additional investigative measures.

Forensic dental analysis confirmed that the body found on Aug. 25 in the Guápulo sector belonged to Bunshi. Prosecutors have not disclosed the cause or mechanism of death. Her family’s lawyers are seeking to have the charges reformulated so the case can be investigated as alleged femicide.