In the cesura stage of the trial for Cecilia Strzyzowski's femicide, the prosecution requested life imprisonment for César Sena, Emerenciano Sena, and Marcela Acuña. It also sought sentences of up to nearly six years for the accomplices and immediate detention for Gustavo Melgarejo. César Sena broke his silence for the first time to request not being transferred from Resistencia.
On Friday, in the Resistencia court, Chaco, final arguments were presented in the cesura stage of the trial for Cecilia Strzyzowski's femicide, which occurred in June 2023. The popular jury declared César Sena guilty as the author of the doubly aggravated homicide by kinship and gender violence, and Emerenciano Sena and Marcela Acuña as primary participants. The prosecution, led by Juan Martín Bogado, Jorge Cáceres Olivera, and Nelia Velázquez, argued that the house in Santa María de Oro was the 'secure scenario' provided by the parents for the crime. Bogado emphasized that César acted 'using the power relationship' and manipulated messages to divert the investigation, causing 'enormous moral and psychological damage' to the victim's family, who had to leave the province.
For the aggravated cover-up accomplices, Gustavo Obregón and Fabiana González, 5 years and 10 months of effective prison were requested. Obregón helped load, transport, and burn the body, collect remains, and destroy belongings; González cleaned premises, removed bloodstained furniture, and participated in 'scripted messages' to simulate concern. Gustavo Melgarejo, guilty of simple cover-up for watching the incineration fire, faces 2 years and 10 months of effective prison and immediate detention, as he is currently free.
The querellas supported maximum penalties: life for the Senas, 6 years for Obregón and González, and 3 years for Melgarejo with disqualification. Emerenciano Sena showed a sign reading 'Inocente condenado en Chaco', interrupted by Judge Dolly Fernández. The defenses challenged the constitutionality of life imprisonment, requested minimum sentences (6 months for Melgarejo, 1 year for others), and for César invoked the 'right to hope' due to his age of 22.
César Sena spoke for the first time after over two years, adhering to his defense and requesting to remain in Resistencia due to his local family. Other defendants also testified. The prosecution requested registering the death as femicide in the Civil Registry and delivering bone remains and belongings to the family, as no death certificate has been issued since 2023. Fernández will decide the penalties in the coming days.