Felipe Sosa, a former Army lieutenant and owner of a private security agency, was detained in Buenos Aires as the main suspect in the murder of Erika Antonella Álvarez, a 25-year-old woman found dead in a Tucumán dump. The victim and the accused knew each other previously, and the crime shows signs of extreme violence. The arrest followed a nationwide manhunt triggered by his flight.
The body of Erika Antonella Álvarez was discovered on January 8 in a dump in the Manantial Sur neighborhood of San Miguel de Tucumán, inside a waste bag. Two women performing cleaning tasks alerted the police. The autopsy revealed that the 25-year-old woman died from severe craniofacial trauma with cervical dislocation, caused by blunt force blows to the head and face, plus a lethal injury to the neck vertebrae. The body was bound with military-style knots, a detail that guided the investigation toward profiles with military training.
The main suspect, Felipe Sosa, 50, graduated from the National Military College in 1998 as a sublieutenant of Infantry and was discharged in 2003 as a lieutenant. He later gained experience in the French Foreign Legion. As a private security entrepreneur, Sosa knew the victim, as they had met at gatherings in the province. Erika's sisters and their lawyer, Carlos Garmendia, described him as "very dangerous" in statements to TN.
After the crime, Sosa fled Tucumán. Tucumán Police issued a national alert, and the Federal Police's Fugitive Search Division located him in Pilar, Buenos Aires province. The key lead was a KTM 1290S motorcycle bought for 4 million pesos in cash, detected by the Digital Ring on January 13. During a raid on a home linked to Sosa, his ex-partner expressed jealousy toward the victim and came under investigation.
Sosa was arrested on January 17 at the Green Hotel in Fátima, Pilar, as he tried to flee. Authorities seized the motorcycle, his cell phone, and clothing. He will remain in Madariaga Penitentiary until transfer to Tucumán, per the Homicide prosecutor's orders. This case marks the first femicide of 2026 in the province.
