|
The body of homemaker Carmen Bahamondes, 46, was discovered Tuesday morning in the outlying Santiago district of Padre Hurtado. She had been stabbed in the neck and rib cage by her partner, 52-year-old AndrÈs Salazar Vel·squez, and thus became Chile’s third femicide victim of 2008.
Salazar, a gardener, attempted suicide after the incident. He was taken to PeÒaflor Hospital where his condition was stabilized, and he was later transferred to San Juan de Dios Hospital. The couple’s 14-year-old daughter suffered an injury on her right wrist when she tried to defend her mother and given medical treatment.
Bahamondes first brought domestic violence charges against her husband in December with a complaint to the Carabineros police. But Homicide Brigade inspector Mario Cunaza told Chile’s Radio Cooperativa that she did not appear in court to confirm the charges, so they were never filed, and no protective measures were ever applied. Women back down in many domestic abuse cases and do not formally file charges against their abusers, he said.
National Women’s Service (SERNAM) Minister Laura Albornoz told Cooperativa Radio that creating consciousness about family violence is a long fight, one that “we have neither one nor lost. We are in a painful situation.”
Salazar will be formally arraigned on Thursday.
Bahamondes’ murder comes on the heels of another woman’s death on Sunday in La Serena. Carolina Barros Carvajal, age 26, was stabbed by her partner, 37-year-old Luis BerrÌos, who later hanged himself. The couple had two children, ages eight and one and a half. According to SERNAM, police are investigating the incident and have not ruled out other theories.
The first femicide death of 2008 was the result of an incident that occurred in December of 2007. Sandra Flores Serrano died on January 2, after being in the hospital since December 9. The 32-year-old was burned by her husband, HÈctor Rivera Soto, in an incident that also caused injuries to the victim’s sister, Claudia Rivera.
After receiving care in Calama and Antofagasta, Flores Serrano was transferred to Santiago where she eventually died of respiratory complications. Claudia Rivera was also hospitalized with burns and serious wounds.
HÈctor Rivera Soto has been in custody since December 11.
Sixty-two women in Chile were femicide victims in 2007. Last year, SERNAM and many non-governmental organizations worked to raise awareness of domestic violence. Efforts included an advertising campaign, the creation of a family violence hotline, and anti-femicide marches throughout the country on Nov, 22 (ST, Nov. 23).
SOURCE: LA NACION, SERNAM, RADIO COOPERATIVA
By Helen Bunting (editorATsantiagotimes.cl) |
