Minister Judith Marín announced the state's first official lawsuit following the femicide of 25-year-old Ester Elena Bustos in Paine. The alleged perpetrator, her ex-partner Rodrigo Morales aged 45, was arrested along with an accomplice. The National Women's Service will attend the detention review hearing.
In the early hours of Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 25-year-old Ester Elena Bustos was killed in a public street in Paine, a commune in the Metropolitan Region. Her ex-partner, 45-year-old Rodrigo Morales and father of her child, was arrested by Carabineros in public while carrying the murder weapon, along with another man detained as an accomplice who had a bladed weapon possibly used in the attack. The case has stirred shock in the area. Women's and Gender Equality Minister Judith Marín announced that the state will file the first official lawsuit under the implementation of the Integral Law for femicide prevention. “This is the first lawsuit the state will file officially through the National Service for Women and Gender Equality,” said Marín, emphasizing coordination with the Security Ministry from the outset and the commitment to pursue aggressors with the full weight of the law. SernamEG national director Priscilla Carrasco stated that “after 35 years and on the occasion of the promulgation of the Integral Law [...] it will file a lawsuit officially for the first time in this case.” The agency has contacted the family to provide support for the Reparation Law implementation and will attend Thursday's detention review hearing, requesting preventive prison, the most severe precautionary measure.
