Juan Antonio did everything to help the authorities catch the criminal who murdered his daughter. But the long legal proceedings anger the grieving father.
Last March, in Cuautla (in the state of Morelos, Mexico), a peasant made a macabre discovery in a vacant lot next to his farm. He is intrigued by a lock of hair sticking out of the ground. Digging a little, he finds the lifeless body of a young woman. The latter is called Evelin Afiune. She was reported missing the day before by her parents. Her father, Juan Antonio, who went to recognize the body, identified her by a small scar she had on her calf.
The man immediately collaborated with the police to find the killer of his daughter, who had just graduated from university. Quickly, the identity of the killer is revealed: it is about Greek Roman, a 38-year-old man, suspected of having committed at least seven other feminicides, including two operated after the death of Evelin. The police will arrest him three months later, in the neighboring state of Veracruz. But Mexican law is very clear: the accused will first be tried in the state where he was arrested. He will have to answer for the death of Viridiana Moreno Vasquez, 31, and that of the young Meliza Ortega Camacho, 17.
Juan Antonio multiplies the declarations to highlight the obvious injustice suffered by his family
It is only then that he will be tried again for the assassination of Evelin. Juan Antonio is not angry: “The police botched the search here in Morelos. They allowed this criminal to flee the state. As a result, my daughter’s death comes after, when it’s thanks to us that he has been identified!” All the more infuriating that Greek Roman has already benefited from generosity of justice: he was released in 2012, while he was accused of rape, for defect of procedures… The date of the first trial approaching, Juan Antonio multiplies statements to highlight the obvious injustice suffered by his family.
Juan Antonio first recalls the facts: “The modus operandi of Greek Roman is always the same. He first changes his identity, then makes job offers to young girls to entice and trap them. He kills after raping them and gets rid of the bodies very quickly… We immediately searched Evelin’s computer to try to understand how she had been able to follow a stranger, and we transmitted to the police all the exchanges between her and her future assassin. That’s how they identified him. But the police made a fatal mistake: an agent called Greek Roman to ask him to come to the police station! Also, no one reacted when the serial killer didn’t show up. “
“While the authorities followed dead ends, the murderer was already far away”
The assassin therefore took his time. The family had access to a video accidentally leaked on the Internet, where we see him moving boxes with a hand truck from the hairdressing salon where he allegedly killed Evelin (600 m from the place where the body of the young girl will be found ). “The police fixed my daughter’s boyfriend, also regrets Juan Antonio. I don’t know why, but we had the impression that he was the only suspect and that the search stopped at him The police went to his home on the day of the wake, accompanied by members of the public prosecutor’s office, to try to take him away to resume his statement, although he had already given it! recognized my daughter on a video of a cafeteria, accompanied by a stranger.”
For the bereaved father, it is inexcusable: “While the authorities followed dead ends, the murderer of my daughter was already miles from where she was killed, and he took the opportunity to murder two other young girls. The prosecutor specializing in the feminicide unit of the state of Morelos, Fabiola García Betanzos, nevertheless defends herself from any failure in the investigation. And explains that all leads have been checked, including, in fact, that of a possible responsibility of the boyfriend in the homicide. Still, the trial for the crime of Evelin is not yet on the agenda for the judicial authorities.
It is estimated that there are 10 feminicides a day in Mexico
We understand better the anger of Juan Antonio. Especially since it is estimated that there are about 10 feminicides a day in Mexico. As in the case of EvelIn, the judicial authorities are often accused by the families of the victims of neglect. They now systematically refuse the official theses, which suppose that the young women would have committed suicide or would have had an accident. In the state of Puebla alone, where Juan Antonio lives, from January 1 to August 1, 2022, there are already 22 feminicides. A figure up sharply compared to the 23 cases recorded for the whole of 2021. Juan Antonio concludes: “I will never give up until justice is done. Where she is, Eve-lin knows that I will fight until the end… And I am someone who always keeps her word. Against all odds.”