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That's Soledad.
Mirian,
María Eugenia,
Mónica, Cañizares,
Silvia, Nancy, Marcela.
♪ I'm in fifth A! I'm in fifth A! ♪
Sing!
We had been planning our year-end trip to Carlos Paz.
Since it was expensive,
obviously not all of the girls were able to pay for that kind of trip.
So we came up with the idea to host fundraising dances,
to help the girls who needed a little bit of help.
And I was one of them.
It was the Spring Fling,
the queen's election.
We had the party on the night of Friday, September 7, 1990.
It was at a club downtown.
LE FEU ROUGE CLUB SEPTEMBER 7TH - 1990
We didn't live in the capital, where the party was,
so we needed someone to come pick us up.
Somebody who would be able to take us home.
Sole asked me, "Where am I going to sleep?"
"I don't have a way to get home."
And so I said to her,
"Stay with me. It's no problem."
"Stay at my house."
It was called "The Night of the Surprise."
I don't even remember why we called it that,
Night of the Surprise.
That night, all of us went to the club with a dream.
We all had responsibilities and jobs to do for the fundraiser.
And Sole was on ticket duty.
There were so many people. It seemed like everyone was there.
Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong that night.
Nothing ended up going smoothly.
We lost the bouquets, which were supposed to be for the queen.
It was a very, very strange night.
Something went inexplicably wrong.
I said to Sole, "Let's go home now."
She told me, "No, just wait for me a little bit longer, Ro."
I said, "Okay."
Forty minutes later, I asked her again,
"Sole, come on."
That's when she told me she wasn't coming home with me.
I asked why.
And she said,
"They're taking me."
And I asked her, "Who is taking you?"
And she told me,
"You know who."
And that's when I realized…
it was him.
At around 3:00 a.m., the girls called me and said,
"Marilyn, it's chaos in here. The lights went out."
"You need to come help."
I ran out. That was the last time I ever saw Sole.
She was gone when I got back.
I should've fought harder for her to stay.
I should've pushed back.
I should've put my foot down and told her, "No."
I told my family you’d come home with me and stay the night,
so that’s what’s going to happen.
I should've stood my ground, but I didn't.
At two or three in the morning, María Soledad vanished.
Did she leave with Tula?
Did she go to the bus stop?
From the moment she left,
nobody knows what happened to María Soledad.
BREAKING THE SILENCE: THE MARIA SOLEDAD CASE
♪ How to stop time? And live it again ♪
Marilyn always used to play the guitar,
and when we hung out, we'd all sing and dance together.
But when Marilyn played slower, more romantic songs,
Soledad would cry.
I asked her once, "Why are you crying?"
SOLE'S CLASSMATE
And she told me that she had what she called an impossible love.
It seemed to me like she was kind of trying to hide it.
As if she was ashamed of admitting she was in love.
But after a while, I was able to figure it out.
She wrote a lot.
We all knew that she liked to write poems
and lots of other things as well.
You could tell by the way that she wrote about him.
He really was her first love.
WE'RE NOT FREE
She was struggling so much because he was a lot older than her.
He was 28.
And she never introduced us to him.
There was never a time she said, "Guys, this is my boyfriend."
I saw him once.
SOLE'S CLASSMATE
Sole and I were leaving school together.
We walked out, and he was just walking by.
She said, "There goes El Flaco."
She called him "El Flaco."
We were waiting at a bus stop when Sole came up to me and said,
"Mirian, come here, come here."
"I've got a friend who's gonna come pick us up."
I asked her, "Who?"
And she said, "It's Luis."
And I told her, "No, I'm not coming."
"I'm not allowed to get into cars with people I don't know."
"Go if you want, but I'm not coming."
And so she goes, "Ugh, Mirian. I hate you. I want to go."
But I didn't get in.
And so she ended up staying with me.
She didn't get in, the car started up, and left.
It was supposedly…
the boy she liked, Luis Tula.
I didn't know who he was.
So I told her, "All that matters is that you're in love."
"How dreamy!"
I didn't know who she was really talking to.
CARMEN Y SAN JOSÉ HIGH SCHOOL
That Monday, I got to school, and one of the girls,
I don't remember who, ran up to me, really scared, and said,
"Mónica, have you heard from Sole? She never made it home."
And I just said, "What?"
On that Monday, I had a class,
and it happened to be facing the courtyard.
There was a man out there, standing right in front of the flagpole.
PRINCIPAL
He started shouting at me from the courtyard. He said,
"Sister, my daughter never came home!"
I asked him who he was.
He said he was Elías Morales, María Soledad's father.
I asked, "Where is she?"
And he said, "She went to the dance and never came back."
He said they'd spent the whole weekend looking for María,
but they couldn't find her.
At that point, without asking him anything else,
I got up, and I brought him into the classroom.
FATHER OF MARÍA SOLEDAD
I still remember him coming up in front of us.
He said, "Girls, all I want to know is where my daughter is."
"If she went to spend the night somewhere else,
if she's at someone else's house, tell me."
We said, "We don't know where she is. Why wouldn't we tell you?"
"We have no idea."
We didn't know anything
or have any information that could help Mr. Morales,
so he left.
The teachers all left the classrooms.
That made us nervous.
What reason would they have to leave class?
They left us alone in the classroom,
but we weren't allowed to leave.
We couldn't leave school.
Our classroom was right by the main entrance,
and next to the main entrance was the office.
So one of us went and she opened up the window
to see if she could hear anything.
And then suddenly…
At around eleven in the morning,
Elías Morales came back in.
And he was screaming, "They found my daughter!"
Patricia
got really close to the window.
She heard Mr. Morales yell, "She's… She's dead! She's dead!"
It was chaos.
The teachers and the assistants ran around,
trying to keep all of the girls from leaving the classrooms.
Windows got broken, some of them were actually hurt.
Out of anger, out of powerlessness, I punched a door,
and still have the scar to this day.
And they had to give me sedatives because I was just completely panicking.
It was…
horrible.
We were all so distraught.
It's so sad.
A few days before…
…we had all shared such a joyful Saturday.
And then to receive such terrible news on Monday…
I don't even know how my classmates and I made it
from the high school to the bus stop.
How any of us were even able to get onto the bus, I don't know.
I do remember that when I got home, I walked in,
and I told my family that my classmate, Sole, was the one who had died.
She had been killed.
Sorry.
We were 17 years old.
We lived in a bubble… a bubble of complete innocence.
We were excited about our senior trip, our senior dinner.
But that was the day that we discovered evil existed.
Early Monday morning,
a bus driver was traveling the route between Valle Viejo and the capital.
When approaching Villa Parque Chacabuco,
he saw some people parked on the side of the road as he passed the turn.
ON AIR
He thought they'd been in an accident, so he got out.
JOURNALIST
But he quickly noticed that something was off.
These people were behaving very strangely.
He thought they were acting suspiciously.
And then, just a few hours later,
in the exact same place where the bus driver had seen those people,
two workers discovered the body of María Soledad.
This is the road that leads towards Villa Chacabuco.
Her corpse was found along the road here,
in a ditch.
An area not too far from where her parents' house is.
When the girl was discovered, she was found half-buried in an area…
ARGENTINE FEDERAL POLICE
…which was on the outskirts of the city.
María Soledad Morales's body was badly disfigured.
In your career, have you ever seen a body with so many injuries?
CHIEF OF POLICE
No, never. Never.
The police continue to work tirelessly.
But there are still no updates.
Multiple accusations of negligence have been made,
with many claiming that the first responders and police officers
failed to secure the scene of the crime.
At 8:30, I was able to walk right by the police, all of them.
NEIGHBOR
I was able to walk right up to the girl.
And if I could do that, anybody could.
They didn't cordon the area off or cover the body at all.
They were just walking around.
The body was found facedown, so it was hard to tell what the victim's sex was.
But somehow some of the police already knew it was María Soledad.
They weren't properly preserving the site where she was found.
There were inconsistencies.
All of this validated the rumors
that their goal was to impede the investigation.
The police have called for the arrest of Luis Tula,
who is said to be the primary suspect,
due to his alleged romantic relationship with María Soledad Morales.
The judge overseeing the case has agreed to hear a plea from Luis Tula,
who was detained as the sole suspect in the death
of the young student from Catamarca.
POLICE STATION NUMBER FOUR - REGIONAL UNIT CATAMARCA POLICE
This afternoon, after several hours of questioning,
Tula was released from police custody due to a lack of evidence.
It appears that this case
is far from closed.
When we went to the funeral the next day,
we agreed to go in our school uniforms.
To honor her, because she loved her uniform.
The Lord has opened the gates of heaven for his daughter,
María Soledad Morales,
so that she may return to the land where death is no more.
María's funeral was on her 18th birthday.
Eighteen years old.
I remember that it was cloudy that day.
And when we were carrying her casket,
I saw
drops of water on it.
I thought it was raining.
Her entire coffin
was completely covered in tears.
They were our tears.
All we could do was cry.
Because
we couldn't see her anymore.
The entire street was full of police officers.
There were police and police cars everywhere.
They wanted to talk to the girls, and get their statements.
And I said, "Excuse me, but these girls are minors."
"They'll give a statement when their parents are present."
The girls were all afraid.
Rumors were already spreading.
The entire town of Catamarca was talking.
But all of us knew.
We weren't gonna let it go.
Shortly after they found the body,
we started to hear some whispers.
Some names were being thrown around.
These were the names of people who you'd never expect to be
involved in anything like this.
People were saying that there were politicians' sons involved.
Powerful people.
We didn't know what we were getting ourselves into,
but the only thing we wanted was justice.
For those who did this to pay.
We needed an explanation, and to figure out what happened.
Why they killed her, and who killed her.
And so, collectively, we decided
that we needed to take to the streets
to demand justice.
Sister Martha didn't approve at first
because she thought it was too dangerous.
HELP ME, CATAMARCA.
They sent our parents permission slips
that would allow us to march.
I demanded that anybody who was going to be attending that protest,
needed to bring written permission from their parents.
A lot of the parents, maybe most of them, didn't agree
because they were afraid something would happen to us at the march.
But by mid-morning,
Sister Martha told us that the police chief had shown up,
and she told us that the protest was off.
Ferreyra, the police chief,
came to the school before the girls could go out.
He came into my office that day
and started laying out all of these theories about María Soledad's death
so that he could kind of keep me trapped in the office.
VOICE OF MIGUEL ÁNGEL FERREYRA POLICE CHIEF
I went to visit Carmen High School to speak with the Sister in private.
And we talked in her office for approximately 30 to 40 minutes.
The meeting was…
It wasn't very cordial.
The two of them talked in the office for a while.
A long time.
He had three theories as to what happened.
The first was that she had some relative who was a butcher,
who knew how to work with knives, and could cut her up like that.
Second, that it was some kind of cult.
That she had…
that… that she had been killed in a satanic ritual.
Like, she was sacrificed to complete a ritual.
And then finally, that it was an act of revenge.
That it was some kind of lover's quarrel,
that they were really trying to tarnish María Soledad's reputation.
That was his goal.
To fill our heads with all of these theories,
like that it had been a satanic cult.
He was presenting all of these things to kind of start
orchestrating the entire cover-up.
I didn't believe any of these theories.
I listened to him, I sat and listened to him,
but my receptionist would keep coming into the office to pull me outside.
And so I went out there, and the whole school was ready to march.
There were 500 girls standing in silence, side by side with their teachers.
Mr. Ferreyra,
did you, at any time, try to prevent
Carmen High School from going out to march,
or try to prevent any March of Silence?
No, I never did anything to try to stop the March of Silence.
He said, "Look, Sister,
you're liable for anything that happens out there."
And I asked, "What's going to happen?"
"We're just trying to figure out what happened to María Soledad."
"So what's gonna happen?"
"Please. You tell me what might happen at this march."
We waited and waited.
And then Sister Martha came out.
And she said, "I can't let you go out there."
She goes, "How can I guarantee that you'll be safe?"
PLEASE, JUSTICE FOR SOLE!
And so we said, "To make it easier on you, we'll be silent."
"That's how we'll protest.
"We'll march in silence. We won't do anything."
And so she finally said to us, "Go ahead."
WE DEMAND JUSTICE FOR OUR CLASSMATE, MARÍA SOLEDAD
FIRST MARCH OF SILENCE
There weren't that many of us in that first march.
Besides ourselves, the only people who joined were our families.
We were all very scared.
We were holding onto each other tightly,
with our arms intertwined because
we could all feel this intense pressure from the police.
They did not want us out there, marching in the streets.
Catamarca essentially stood still
as we marched through the streets.
To me, what was amazing to see
was the people who started coming out into the nearby streets,
who stopped their cars, and got out,
almost as if the national anthem was playing or something.
And they just stood there
and watched us pass by.
Kind of joining us in that way.
All you could hear was the tap-tap of our feet.
And that's how the "Marches of Silence" started.
When we arrived at the front of the cathedral,
we prayed.
All of us prayed together.
We asked the Virgin Mary to help us in our search for justice.
For her to bring justice.
IN SILENCE, YOUTHS DEMANDED JUSTICE YESTERDAY.
THE CRIES OF SILENCE
After the march, Sister Martha was proud of us.
She told us that our behavior was exemplary,
and we had her full support.
The march today began in complete silence.
SECOND MARCH OF SILENCE
Up front here, we see Sister Martha Pelloni,
who is the principal of Carmen High School,
where María Soledad was a student.
Standing beside her
are both of María Soledad's parents.
Could you move, Cuqui?
CITY OF BUENOS AIRES 1,128 KM FROM CATAMARCA
I was working for Telefe News.
For three days straight, the El Clarín newspaper
printed the same little story.
YOUNG GIRL KILLED IN CATAMARCA
And this caught the attention of our news director, Carlos Montero.
He noticed that the article kept repeating the same thing over and over again.
"The children of power."
It sounded creepy.
So he decided to send a team to Catamarca to find out what was going on.
And he ended up choosing me to go as well.
It was strange because they usually sent men.
San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, a city for the masses.
Sleepy and silent.
A Christian city, with 90,000 inhabitants.
It seems as if everyone here has been riled up
by the discovery of a body.
It was desecrated. And it belonged to María Soledad Morales.
The first week we were there,
we went into the streets to interview people.
I'd ask them what they thought about the case.
"What do you think happened to María Soledad?"
"What do you think of the case?"
And people would turn away and go like this.
They hid their faces and refused to talk to us.
Could you tell us what locals are saying about the Morales case?
No, I really don't have anything to say about it.
I wasn't here when it happened.
That was the first thing we noticed.
We feel a bit helpless. People are scared.
I'm not exactly sure what we're scared of, but all of us are afraid.
I think everyone around here is afraid.
I actually ended up missing two weeks of classes
because I was afraid of going outside.
We think that…
the people who did it are still out here among us.
So what happened to her could happen to us.
The one thing people kept saying to us was,
"You'll all leave one day,
but all of us, we still have to live here."
There's a lot of fear in Catamarca.
Who's powerful enough to terrify an entire city?
The powerful.
Nobody would talk to me about María Soledad.
So we went to Carmen High School, which is where María Soledad went.
And the principal, Martha Pelloni, was incredibly welcoming.
Sister Martha, do you think people know more than they're letting on?
Or maybe they know more than they say they do, but are too afraid to testify?
Yes, I'm 100% certain of that.
Then I said, "Sister, you've got quite a set of ovaries!"
And Martha covered up the camera with her hand, and she said,
"No, Fanny, don't say that."
So, I asked her if I could go inside María Soledad's old classroom.
She was a fifth-year student at Carmen High School.
Nothing has ever been the same since September 8th.
These girls really opened up to me a lot.
FRIENDS FOREVER TRUE FRIENDS
All of us had dreamed about graduating
and really enjoying our last year at school together.
And we were all so excited to go on our senior trip, you know?
And then suddenly one of us was just gone.
And the worst part of all of it was…
the way that she…
It was worse because of what they'd done to her.
So that was very hard.
There's an empty seat there behind you. Was that's María's?
Yes, that's right. That was hers. We just…
We just don't understand, you know?
This massacre, we can't compare it to an animal, 'cause no animal would
kill her the way that they did.
There's no explanation for cutting a life short the way that they did.
Sergio, how did this case impact the country socially and politically?
JOURNALIST
The sheer brutality of the murder,
and in particular, the circumstances that surrounded the case,
were what originally got the national media interested.
So everyone went to Catamarca.
Everyone was paying attention to this crime.
But there was also a political situation going on.
Everybody here knows that
Catamarca's government is all based on nepotism.
Catamarca was like the Kingdom of the Saadis.
And there's Ramón Saadi up on people's shoulders.
It's 6:30 p.m. here in Catamarca. We'll try and get to him!
GOVERNOR OF CATAMARCA
Ramón Saadi had been elected the governor of Catamarca back in 1983.
He was the son of the powerful national Peronist political leader Vicente Saadi,
who mentored Carlos Saúl Menem,
who would become the President of Argentina.
PRESIDENT OF ARGENTINA
Carlos Menem owed his entire political career
to Vicente Saadi.
Ramón inherited his power, because his father had it.
He surrounded himself with a bunch of these thugs,
who, you know, would eventually go onto become congressmen and senators,
so that he could essentially do whatever he wanted.
They appointed the judges they wanted.
They appointed the police that they wanted.
They ran it like their own kingdom.
So, there was already this history of silencing and controlling people,
because he was the king of Catamarca.
Governor, may I ask you something? Talk to your people.
When we met in his office, this dimly lit room,
the first thing he asked me was,
"Are you not afraid to walk in the streets alone?"
He ruled with complete impunity.
And there's Governor Ramón Saadi.
MARCH FOR TRUTH OCTOBER 25, 1990
He's leading the march.
GOV. SAADI INVITES ALL PEOPLE TO THE ASSEMBLY
The governor organized what they called the "March for Truth."
They brought in militants from all sides
to protest what they were calling a political movement
against the government.
I can guarantee you that as a citizen, as a father,
and, most importantly,
as Catamarca's governor,
that whoever is responsible for committing this crime
will pay for what they've done,
and be punished in a court of law.
Catamarca! Catamarca! Catamarca! Catamarca!
THE MARCH FOR TRUTH, A POOR IMITATION
SAADI COULD ONLY GATHER 7,000 AT MARCH
I want to tell all of Argentina that we've known from the start,
from the very beginning,
who did this and how.
The crime has already been solved, but…
but those responsible have a lot of political power in Catamarca.
And the people who killed my daughter will stop at nothing
to cover up this crime. To cover up what they did.
But we will not let that happen.
Everybody in Catamarca knows each other in some way,
so they will not get away with this.
Then, the following week,
thirty thousand people joined the seventh "March of Silence."
SEVENTH MARCH OF SILENCE
Seventh March of Silence.
Thirty thousand people are marching together.
That's one third of Catamarca's population.
It was the first time we'd seen a case cause a mass social movement.
It had never happened before.
I mean, never.
♪ Let us join hands! Let us join hands! ♪
♪ Let's join hands in the end In the end! ♪
♪ I feel certainty in my heart ♪
♪ That we'll win in the end ♪
As governor of Catamarca,
I've been working tirelessly with local officials, around the clock,
to uncover the truth of this case.
You have to remember, though, that, while some cases can be solved quickly,
others can, unfortunately, take a lot more time to crack.
SOMETHING'S ROTTEN IN CATAMARCA
These marches were covered by outlets across the country.
So, the national government felt pressured,
and they basically had no choice but to get involved.
President Menem has proposed that Governor Saadi
appoint Deputy Commissioner Luis Patti to lead the investigation.
They sent Patti, who was quite popular with the police,
and known to be ruthless.
People thought he'd be able to solve the case.
It's 10:00 a.m. here, and as you can see behind me,
there's a plane on the runway.
Deputy Commissioner Luis Patti has arrived.
When Patti arrived in Catamarca, he was welcomed as if he had…
he had already solved the crime.
PATTI, YOU'RE OUR HOPE
Patti! Patti!
BE STRONG, PATTI WE LOVE YOU
He's the only one who will do something for our people.
To bring justice for María Soledad!
Why Patti? Because we have faith in him!
And he's done great work in Buenos Aires as well.
Deputy Commissioner Patti has officially begun his investigation!
Deputy Commissioner Patti has ordered a manual search to be conducted
in the area where María Soledad's body was found.
They can't use machines.
They're going to manually search for anything
that may be of interest in this case, identify and report it.
Typically though, a search of the crime scene
and surrounding area is conducted as soon as a body is found, right?
In theory and in practice, yes.
But this hasn't been done since September 10th?
That's correct. This type of search never took place.
Patti, since you've arrived here in Catamarca,
do you feel that any progress has been made in the investigation?
Well, clearly we've made some progress, haven't we?
Do you think you're getting closer?
A homicide investigation has no timeline, so we'll just have to wait and see.
He wanted to talk to me, so he asked if he could meet with me at my house.
He wanted me to go to the Federal Justice Department.
But I told him, "No. If you want to talk, we can do it at my house."
I gave him the exact same information we gave to the president,
the exact same names.
I did that because we wanted to make sure the investigation
wasn't derailed or slowed down in any way.
Do you think the investigation's been purposely derailed?
Or are Patti's statements just causing it to lose focus?
I don't think I can judge his work because I don't know him.
But if they're only focusing on Tula,
then they're heading in the wrong direction.
It originally appeared to be a crime of passion.
María Soledad was dating a man who was ten years older than her.
That was Luis Tula.
Tula was…
poor.
Tula worked as a road worker.
But he wanted a better life, so he was also in school.
He was married… or not.
JOURNALIST
He…
Tula was a strange person.
Have you had a chance to read Patti's interview?
I read some of it.
I'll read you a little bit.
"He says, 'It was a crime of passion.'"
"They ask him how he's sure. Patti responds, 'For several reasons.'"
"'There are three or four possible theories.'
"'The only strong one is a crime of passion.'"
"'Somebody drove off with María Soledad, and she most likely left in Tula's car.'"
They wanted it to be Tula because, later on,
some more prominent people started to become suspects.
Exactly. And that's what Menem was trying to prevent by sending Patti.
WE HAVE A SUSPECT
They tortured Luis Tula.
And they essentially promised him the world
if he confessed to killing María Soledad.
- How much did they offer? Two million dollars.
- You didn't take it? I didn't take anything.
Nothing?
They wanted something quick.
They wanted the case closed.
VENTIMIGLIA AND PATTI DON'T AGREE ON WHO THE SUSPECT IS
Without any politicians. But it depended on the judge.
When you boil it down, Deputy Commissioner Patti's main theory
is that Maria's murder was a crime driven by passion.
That it was simply the result of some kind of love triangle situation.
But, uh, let's just say that my own theory is a bit broader in scope.
Immediately after María Soledad was killed,
people were linking her death to these "children of power."
And everyone suspected it because
these children of power
would often go after these girls, these "chinitas," as they would call them.
These high-society boys, these politicians' sons,
would often call lower-class girls chinitas.
These "children," the sons of these powerful politicians, were known to have
this habit of going out on weekends.
They'd go out to have fun with girls.
But they'd specifically look for young girls.
Obviously, they weren’t intentionally going out
to rape and kill girls every weekend,
but they knew that, whatever they did, they had a certain kind of impunity.
Guillermo Luque's name first came up
because his car matched the vehicle witnesses had described
that picked up María Soledad from the bus stop that night.
There was a lady who ran in these, let's call them "governmental circles."
This woman was hosting a tea party at her house.
And she told her friends that…
that Guillermo Luque had killed a chinita.
Is it possible that Tula is also involved in this?
Does he have connections with these people?
First of all, it's a definite possibility.
So it might not be Tula or Luque, but it could be both Tula and Luque?
And there might be a few others as well.
First of all, I haven't been accused of anything.
And second, there's absolutely no evidence.
Not only is there no proof that I committed the crime,
there's also no proof I was even in Catamarca.
Luque lived in Buenos Aires,
and he worked in the National Library of Congress.
Did you see Guillermo Luque in Catamarca on Friday, September 7th?
WITNESS
Yes, I did. I saw him at a special event in town.
On República street, between Salta and Rivadavia.
1ST PRE-TRIAL HEARING
Judge Ventimiglia has ordered the arrest of Guillermo Luque.
Do you have any updates for us on the potential arrest
of Congressman Luque's son, Guillermo?
No. I mean, there's an arrest warrant.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER
And I know that they're getting ready to detain him,
and that should be happening anytime now.
Some are claiming that Guillermo Luque has already managed to leave the country.
Is that true?
No, he has to be in Buenos Aires.
Commissioner Patti has flown to Buenos Aires,
but Guillermo Luque has so-far managed to evade the authorities.
As a result, the renowned police commissioner
is now facing a barrage of harsh criticism.
- Are you going to take Patti's place? - No. Patti is going to be…
He'll be relieved by the Undersecretary of Justice.
Is he working with you?
Differences between himself and the judge
forced him to return to Buenos Aires.
Did you fail in Catamarca?
No.
He left empty handed.
He didn't achieve anything at all.
Is Guillermo still in the country?
Guillermo's on vacation. He's actually out on the coast.
GUILLERMO'S FATHER, CONGRESSMAN
He's currently either traveling to Punta del Este, or he's already there.
But he's been in constant contact with us the whole time,
just in case the judge subpoenas him.
Guillermo Luque.
He's the son of both a national congressman
and a local congresswoman.
A true Catamarcan child of power.
Menem, who was the president at the time,
was very close friends with Ramón Saadi and Angel Luque.
On our plane to Catamarca,
we find Guillermo Luque returning from vacation on the same flight.
However,
Mr. Luque told us that he won't be speaking to us or any other press today.
Correct, I will not speak to the press until I've met with the judge.
I've returned from abroad.
If I had any doubts about this situation,
do you honestly think I would've come back?
People have said I'm protected by political power.
If that were true, there would be an easier option.
To distance myself from this.
I came back because I'm innocent.
Guillermo Luque finds himself in jeopardy.
A new witness has come forward with damning testimony
that could disprove Mr. Luque's alibi.
And this witness also implicates him in María Soledad's murder.
There's a group of people who have decided to come together
and they're accusing me of committing this crime.
They're attempting to spread misinformation about me
to throw everyone off the scent.
And they're trying to distract the people of Catamarca,
and divide our community.
Mr. Luque left on Friday the 7th,
at around ten at night, and then he came back on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.
Who else was there on Friday?
"El Hueso" Ibáñez came to pick him up.
FRIEND OF GUILLERMO LUQUE
When he returned on Saturday, he was alone.
Not long after, I overheard him and his father in the bedroom.
His father was yelling at him. You could hear everything.
He yelled, "What have you done?" Then they left again.
Then at around six or seven in the evening, they returned.
They handed me clothes, pants and underwear, covered in blood.
They wanted me to wash them.
THE WALL OF SILENCE IS CRUMBLING
They took the car to La Merced and they left it there.
- Who washed the car? Moreno? Moreno washed the car.
What's your job at Congressman Luque's house?
I'm the gardener, sir.
I noticed something on the car.
I could see that there was something red.
I tried to get a better look, and Moreno told me it was blood.
It looked like Guillermo killed a girl.
My son, Guillermo Daniel Luque,
was not in Catamarca on the 7th, 8th, or 9th.
If you saw my son on the 7th, 8th, 9th, or 10th of September,
go report it to the police, go to the courts.
Did they try and offer you any money?
They didn't offer me anything.
They just threatened you?
They just threatened me.
Who specifically threatened you?
Ángel Luque.
The Luques told Ramón Medina
that if he talked, they would kill his mother.
To anyone who bears false witness,
let's just see how that turns out for you.
In your opinion,
has the situation been getting worse for Guillermo Luque?
I think so. The investigation is still ongoing.
But I think that as it goes further,
it's starting to look a lot worse for the two accused men,
especially Guillermo Luque.
Have you testified today, Guillermo?
- This is ridiculous, it's a complete sham. - Why?
Because… Because all of this is a setup.
What do you mean by "setup," Guillermo? Who is setting you up?
But, it was Luque's father
who really put the cherry on top.
Ángel Luque.
Amid the flood of accusations against his son,
the congressman resorted to flexing his power.
And when a journalist questioned him about his son's innocence,
Congressman Luque responded, with full impunity,
"Do you honestly think that if my son had done this
the body would've been found?"
He said this as a man who clearly felt untouchable.
Everyone took that to mean, "In Catamarca, this happens a lot."
"It's just that the bodies aren't being found."
It was just terrible.
It was enough to get Ángel Luque expelled from Congress.
This had never happened before.
Angel Luque was the first legislator, in the entire history of Argentina,
to be expelled from National Congress.
Luque's expulsion happened very quickly.
Some are even claiming that Catamarcan authorities
were trying to cover up his actions.
Absolutely not.
The provincial government in Catamarca
has never covered up anything in regards to Mr. Luque,
nor anyone else for that matter.
They've come after me this time, like they came after my son.
My expulsion from Congress was politically motivated.
I'm waiting to be told what crime I committed.
Nobody's actually accused me of doing anything wrong.
They're the ones who are covering up a crime.
CALL ATTRIBUTED TO ÁNGEL LUQUE AND VÍCTOR PINTO
This looks really bad…
If the prez there doesn't control this,
it'll get out of hand, don't you think?
What does he mean by that? "The prez there"?
This is where Pinto made a critical mistake.
He basically tells Luque that if "the prez there" doesn't intervene
it's gonna get out of hand.
Okay, "The prez there." So he means the nation's President.
Intervention! We won't go! The people won't go!
- The people won't go! We won't go! - We have a problem here.
It's turning into a tough situation.
Menem is corrupt!
- It's starting to get tense. - Menem is corrupt! Menem is corrupt!
There's a heavy police presence forming here.
They just lit something on fire.
And there are a lot of police officers here.
Marilyn, I hear that yourself and María Soledad's other young classmates
want to extend an invitation to the rest of the youth across the country.
That's right.
We actually want to extend that invitation to everyone across the country,
to all people, those both young and old.
We wanted to do a national march.
We thought, "We have to do this. Everyone is behind this."
"We have to organize a march in every city,
and we need to do it for Sole."
We want everyone to join us in our silent cries for justice,
which are called "The Marches of Silence."
JUSTICE
APRIL 18TH - 1991
I did that national march in Buenos Aires.
But they also took place at the same time across many different provinces,
throughout the country.
222 DAYS AFTER THE CRIME
JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU
The priests were our "human shields."
They put themselves on the front lines during the marches,
because we'd been warned that people might be hiding on top of buildings.
And that there could be a stray bullet headed towards us.
SOLE LIVES
We knew it was dangerous.
But we had to do it.
In the face of this cover up,
and all of this impunity,
and in the face of all of these abuses,
we need to come together.
We're all united by one thing.
We're united by what's in our hearts.
It's the desire for our country
to once and for all,
be ruled by the justice we all deserve.
Justice! Justice!
♪ Let us join hands! ♪
♪ Let us join hands! Let us join hands! ♪
♪ In the end, in the end! ♪
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER
♪ I feel certainty in my heart ♪
♪ That we'll win in the end! ♪
What moved me the most was that people
throughout the entire country got behind us.
None of us ever imagined that would happen.
What did the national march result in?
There was a federal intervention in Catamarca.
The march was so impactful that it caused a federal intervention.
In my capacity as president of Argentina,
I have made the decision today
to declare a federal intervention over the executive and legislative branches
of the provincial government of Catamarca.
I've hired a federal intervenor to oversee this.
I've selected Mr. Luis Prol.
LUIS PROL NAMED INTERVENOR A TENSE CLIMATE IN CATAMARCA
With all due respect to my dear friend,
today he made one of the biggest mistakes that a president can make.
He has made the decision that he will no longer respect
our methods of governing here.
Ramón was a good friend of Menem's, a very good friend.
He deeply trusted Menem. And Menem betrayed him.
GOODBYE, CRUEL BROTHER
When President Menem realized
that he couldn't do anything to save Saadi,
and that Saadi could actually bring down his political career,
he cut ties.
FROM VICENTE TO RAMÓN SAADI A DRIED-UP DYNASTY
The crowd is celebrating the arrival of the federal intervenor,
as he arrives in Catamarca.
But with all of this going on,
María Soledad seemed to be forgotten.
She disappeared.
Disappeared.
She got lost in the records.
No one thought about her.
People were thinking about Saadi,
who'd be brought down next, what Menem would do.
She was forgotten.
The intervenor, Luis Prol, has called for elections in Catamarca.
They might be the most pivotal elections in the history of the province.
Even though he was dismissed during the federal intervention,
Saadi still had so much political influence
that he decided to run for office again.
The radicals and the anti-Saadi Peronists,
put forward an old, Catamarcan radical as their candidate.
The elections in Catamarca have resulted in a polarized contest
between the ex-governor, Ramón Saadi, and the radical, Arnoldo Castillo.
Mr. Saadi, is this the most difficult election
you've been involved in?
No, not at all. Not in my opinion.
The thing is, that, this is…
This behavior is the…
It's the behavior of a community that's been shaken to their core.
They've all been affected by this merciless campaign that started last year.
The people of Catamarca will vote based on…
their personal desire to see the end of government corruption.
So, they'll either use their vote responsibly,
or they'll vote to stick with Saadi.
Sister Martha's secular prayer,
as they called it, to "not be afraid,"
had a big effect.
The Civil and Social Front has won the election.
People came out to celebrate in the central square in Catamarca.
Sister, people are saying you played a key role in fueling this change in Catamarca.
Well, if that's what people are saying,
then, yes, I think I may have inspired people
thanks to my role in the community as a religious leader,
and my commitment to denouncing wrongdoing.
And hopefully all of the incredible promise that Catamarca has shown today
will continue on into the future.
What do you want from the new government
regarding your daughter's case?
Well, I'd like the crime to be solved,
and for her killers to be put where they belong.
What we want is a transparent government,
where we do not differentiate between any person.
Our aim is to have justice act like justice here.
So that means that anyone who's committed a crime,
under any government,
will have to pay.
They transferred me in December of 1991.
And we will soon be joined by Sister Martha Pelloni.
I'm convinced that Menem asked the bishop to transfer me.
And I believe the bishop talked to my congregation.
The community of Catamarca must ask to be cleansed of all of its guilt.
BISHOP OF CATAMARCA
We must do this, so that justice can finally, finally, flourish.
Menem went to see Monsignor Miani,
and he asked him
to have her removed.
They figured that if they got rid of Sister Pelloni,
then the marches would fall apart, and we'd finally be quiet.
The goal was to get me out of here. To get me out of Catamarca.
Sister Martha was such an important person to all of us.
She was like a pillar of strength.
So when she left, it felt like we were orphans.
- Our Mother of the Valley… - Pray for us.
It wasn't so much the shock of her leaving…
VOW OF SOLITUDE
…but the fact that they needed to flex their political power,
and pressure us to stay silent.
But despite all of this, we didn't stop.
And she told us,
"Don't give up. Keep going."
But it was hard.
And at the time,
we really felt like our world was crumbling around us.
But we had to keep going.
We had to.
As a result of the federal intervention,
the newly established government decided to bring in these lawyers from Córdoba
to fill out the Judicial Branch in Catamarca.
The new government, which was called the Civic Front,
felt intense political pressure to expedite the María Soledad Morales trial.
But they didn't have an Attorney General.
There was internal bickering, and people were divided.
Half who were against Saadi, and half who were Saadi supporters.
So, if the prosecutor was chosen internally,
they would essentially be facing off against half the community automatically.
Which meant it would be very difficult to choose someone from Catamarca.
Because of all this, they decided they wanted to find
a prosecutor from the judiciary in Córdoba.
And so they eventually chose me.
And I took over the case.
I'm Gustavo Taranto. I lived here when prosecuting María Soledad's trial.
- How's it going? - How are you?
Do you remember me at all, or no?
- I do. - Huh?
You're from Córdoba.
- Yes, Córdoba, exactly. - From the María Soledad case.
- Exactly. - I was just telling her.
- Yes, of course, I remember you. Yes. - Well…
On the 26th of February,
the trial started,
beginning the process to finally shed some light
on the death of María Soledad Morales.
6 YEARS AFTER THE CRIME
The trial is being held in Catamarca's Criminal Chamber number two,
and will be overseen by three judges.
First is Judge Rodolfo Ortiz Iramaín,
who is also the Chief Judge.
Alongside him is Judge Juan Carlos Sampayo,
and also civil court judge, María Alejandra Azar.
Here come the Morales. The Morales family's arriving.
Stay strong, Ada, stay strong!
How are all of you holding up?
I'm doing well, thank God. We're feeling strong, stronger than ever.
All we're hoping for is that justice is finally served.
The judges have collectively decided that Channel Six Catamarca
will be granted exclusive permission
to broadcast the trial live, allowing it to be seen nationwide.
This was totally unprecedented.
To allow a criminal trial to be televised live was completely out of the ordinary.
- I think that-- - Not even the trial for the Junta.
Exactly. It was almost like it was a TV show.
I remember that all of us would gather around the TV.
It would happen almost every single evening,
and we'd wait for the coverage to start.
The court calls witness Miguel Ángel Ferreyra.
Mr. Ferreyra,
during your time on this case,
do you recall making any attempts to derail the investigation,
or mislead those involved?
Look, as police chief,
and in my capacity as a witness,
I do not know what you're referring to.
It's like there were two stories.
The official story, on record,
that had originally closed the initial murder investigation,
and the story on the streets.
On the evening of September 7th, 1990,
María Soledad said goodbye to her mother for the last time and left her house.
She then attended a party here to elect a "Spring Fling" queen.
Thirty years ago, this was "Le Feu Rouge."
You can still see paintings on the walls from back then.
She wasn't concerned about electing a queen,
she was focused on getting together
with the person she was in love with, Luis Tula.
Were you engaged in a romantic relationship with María Soledad?
Truthfully, I would say yes.
She was very much in love with Tula,
and she invited him to the club.
Luis showed up, but he didn't stay.
Before the party ended, he arrived on a motorcycle,
and he told her that he wouldn't be able to pick her up.
According to her classmates, this really crushed María.
And so, she eventually decided she wanted to leave,
and left to take the bus home.
And that was the very last time she was seen alive.
Standing at the bus stop, three or four blocks from the club.
It was probably on this corner here,
and perhaps even at this very bus stop, where María Soledad's tragic story began.
I had to return to Catamarca for the trial.
Of course I did.
Sister Pelloni is perhaps one of the most important witnesses
in the entire case.
What are you hoping for?
- Sister Pelloni! - We'll talk afterwards.
One of my students, Patricia de la Colina,
told me that a boy she knew named Marcelo Coronel
spoke to her about the events that night.
According to Patricia,
Marcelo knew five third-year students at the National High School
who had witnessed, in the early hours of the morning on September 8th,
Miss María Soledad standing at the Calle Salta bus stop,
and getting into a car.
They said it was a green "Falcon,"
and that this Falcon was being driven by Guillermo Luque.
The girl got into the car with the boy, and he was all alone.
He said that they drove down Republica extremely fast,
like he was racing.
When he said "the girl…"
- Yes? - …did you know who he was referring to?
Well, I kind of ended up connecting the dots.
I assumed that it was María Soledad.
He told me that on Monday.
That very same Monday that they found Sole's body.
MARCELO CORONEL, ENDANGERED WITNESS
Afterwards, he started saying, "Oh, that wasn't true."
He told me to say that I'd lied.
- I never told you that. You did say that.
No, I never said that.
WITNESS
After what they did to me, do you think I would lie?
- You know what they did to me? - Yes, I do.
One day, I was brought into the police station,
and Marcelo was sitting there.
He was all beaten up.
I asked the police what had happened to him.
And they told me they'd found him like that at the rugby field.
Then Marcelo asked me to please say that I had been lying.
I dunno why you don't say it now…
- They didn't do anything to you. - …or before.
- You're making it all up. - I didn't make anything up!
He told me that she walked up to the first car
like she knew the guy who was driving.
The one who was alone.
- I have no reason to make anything up! - I'm making it up? I never said anything.
At any point.
CHARGES OF PRESSURE, TORTURE, BRIBES TO HIDE WHO TOOK THE GIRL
The key here is that her friends,
and they discussed this during her trial,
her friends knew that María Soledad,
because of who she was as a person,
would never have voluntarily gotten into any car,
unless Tula was in it, or,
unless she knew that the people driving would take her to where Tula was.
So she eventually got into a Falcon, and she did so voluntarily.
It belonged to Guillermo Luque.
They took her to Clivus,
a club that neither María nor her friends would ever go to,
because of how young they were.
And after that, we don't know exactly what happened.
This used to be Clivus. It has a new name now.
But the new place is probably still the same thing as it was before.
Which is a place to dance, a nightclub.
You said you saw María Soledad at around four in the morning?
- Yes. - María Soledad Morales?
Yes.
Rita Furlán worked as a cashier at Clivus.
And what she saw there shocked her.
I saw María Soledad, leaning against a pillar with a boy.
Miss Furlán, did you know María Soledad Morales?
- Yes, ma'am. - How long had you known her?
I don't know exactly how long,
but I do know that there were several times where
we had chatted at my front door and at church.
She saw her in Clivus that fateful night.
And not just her, but Guillermo Luque too.
Who else did you see?
- Guillermo Luque and "Hueso" Ibáñez? - Yes.
How were they dressed?
I don't remember exactly what they were wearing.
We're talking about five years ago at this point.
I met them as they were coming downstairs from the top floor of the club.
"Hueso" Ibáñez with Guillermo and two girls.
I talked with some ladies who worked at Clivus,
some might call them, "ladies of the night,"
who told me about these men
who would go and pick up young girls there on Saturdays.
They would come in, and pick up girls there on the weekends.
Some of these men acted like they had droit du seigneur.
Which meant that these girls would feel obligated to sleep with one of them
in order to ensure that their fathers could get a job.
The children of power would oftentimes have friends,
who acted more like they were followers.
People who were there because they liked hanging out with the upper class,
and wanted to experience the high life.
Luis Tula befriended some of these children of power,
because they had a lot of money,
and because they'd go out to clubs he would've never been able to afford.
So he ended up as part of that group of followers.
And what was his "entry fee," hm?
How did he become part of that group? He needed to recruit girls.
There was one guy named "El Hueso."
There was another called "El Loco."
The court will now hear from Hugo "Hueso" Ibáñez,
and Luis "Loco" Méndez.
Ibáñez, a 41-year-old taxi driver,
said he met Luque in 1987 at a bar in Catamarca.
He claims he didn't see Luque in the province during the weekend in question.
"Loco" Méndez, a 35-year-old furniture salesman,
insists that, while he would sometimes see Luque over the weekends,
he didn't think Luque was in Catamarca between September 7th and 9th.
There are a lot of people who saw him.
Although a lot of people have gone from, "I saw him," to,
"Oh, wait. No, I didn't."
CECILIA PARODI: "I DIDN'T SEE HIM"
WITNESSES LYING
When witness Evangelina Sosa testified,
the judges wanted to know if she would retract her original statements
she'd given to the police prior to the trial.
On the night of September 8th, while at Clivus,
Evangelina Sosa felt a hand on her back.
She turned around and saw María Soledad, who said hello to her.
You told me that you saw María Soledad at Clivus.
You said that she had a black sweatshirt on.
You pointed like this to your neck.
No, ma'am.
You said she was going upstairs, and you were going down,
because your dad was waiting for you.
- So everything I'm saying is a lie? No, ma'am.
Yes, ma'am. You're lying.
- So I'm lying? - Yes, ma'am.
I said, "Look, Evangelina, I'm a woman of God."
"The only thing I care about is the truth."
And we talked about this. I told her,
"Don't let anybody pressure you, or force you to say something else, okay?"
"Just lay your conscience before God, and may this crime be solved."
"Because while it's María Soledad today,
there will be many more like her tomorrow."
Well, then she burst into tears.
And then she said to me,
"Sister, everything I said this morning was true."
"But my parents, they won't let me testify."
EVANGELINA SOSA SAID SHE LIED, CITING PRESSURE
Ma'am, did you sense that
the people who were coming forward with these facts
were fearful?
Because you've said before that a lot of them changed their minds.
They'd say one thing, then take it back.
- Was that the case? Yes, sir. There were.
There were many threats made against them.
You've insisted that this is a cover-up that's about to be exposed.
Why do you say that?
There's no doubt in my mind that this case,
which started as a police investigation,
a criminal one,
was turned into…
a political tool.
To tie it to a political affair.
MARTHA PELLONI TESTIFIES
Ma'am, did you receive threats yourself?
Yes, sir. I received them often.
I've even received threats in the past few days,
ever since I've returned to Catamarca.
What kinds of threats have you received, since you've testified?
They warned me not to testify.
Or else they would hurt me. They used very strong language.
And they told me that I better not show up.
Or else it would be the end for me.
In today's session,
the principal of Carmen High School, Sister Martha Pelloni,
testified that Sara Cuba,
Ramón Saadi's cousin,
had told her that she believed Guillermo Luque had killed a chinita.
Sara Cuba had claimed that around,
mm…
around the time of María Soledad's murder,
Mrs. de Lupiani's doctor had shown up at the gym.
And, as the two of them chatted,
she asked Miss Cuba something along the lines of,
"Did you hear about what happened to 'Beba' Luque's son?"
The doctor said she had been playing canasta at a tea party,
when Mrs. de Lupiani mentioned that Luque's son had killed a chinita.
At the time, she assumed that it had been a car accident.
And they both went home with that story.
It seems like both Miss Cuba and the doctor discussed it with their families,
just as the doctor had done with Mrs. de Lupiani
when they played cards at the tea party.
But the next day,
when Sara Boggio ran into the doctor at the gym again,
she told Sara,
"Look, don't go around telling anyone anything about what I said yesterday,
about Luque,
because it wasn't an accident."
"It seems like that girl was murdered."
No, Sister.
- I never said anything, Sister! Yes, you did.
I was telling nothing but the truth during my testimony.
- And I waited until today to-- - What you're saying is slanderous.
If you want to insult me, ma'am, that's fine.
They should grab you by the hair, and drag you out of here.
You deserve to be beaten up for what you've said.
I testified to defend my truth.
The truth that I knew.
Because I couldn't do anything else.
That truth involved those conversations that I'd had with Mrs. Boggio,
but she decided to deny everything.
No aggression!
But that is a complete lie she's telling!
This witness should be disciplined!
She's threatened another witness.
They definitely could have hurt Sister Martha.
She was truly a hero without a cape.
1,128 KM FROM CATAMARCA
I started out when I was 22 years old, right here in this very house.
We were isolated.
In those days, we didn't go out.
But I was already a rebel back then.
A rebel because I could be critical.
Not because I was opposing anyone.
I had taken a vow of obedience.
It was in the middle of 1987.
That year, I was diagnosed with fulminate breast cancer, hm?
It was like I could feel death knocking on my door.
So the day before my operation,
I sat down and prayed, crying.
I said to God,
"You know I gave my life to you, just as you did for so many other people."
"And I want to keep working."
And I said, "I promise I'm not going to waste a minute of my life,
if you grant me the life I desire."
I came out of my operation successfully, and what next?
At the end of that year, after my operation, it happened.
The provincial authority decided to send me to Catamarca.
And that's how my journey with the María Soledad case started.
There were many difficulties we encountered
throughout the duration of the trial.
And by "difficulties,"
I mean that there were many threats being made…
AUDIENCE CHAMBER
…against anyone involved in the case.
A lot of witnesses were afraid.
They spent a lot of money trying to disrupt the proceedings.
A whole lot of money.
And what else did they try to do?
They tried to come up with these fake stories about Gustavo Taranto.
But they weren't successful.
Suddenly, I started getting these visits.
These visits were from multiple women,
and that's when I quickly realized that the opposition might be trying
to hurt my credibility.
In fact, there was even a time when a woman came up to me
and directly propositioned me.
This same woman then showed up at the trial,
and sat next to the mother of one of the defendants.
Many witnesses have passed on the opportunity to accuse your son.
Do you think that's complicated things at all?
No, no. I wouldn't say that.
During the trial, there were questions about where
María Soledad's murder had actually taken place.
Some witnesses had mentioned a place called "Los Alamos,"
which was actually an hourly motel.
We knew that parties were frequently being held there.
Gustavo Taranto paid careful attention
to the testimony of young Patricia Rodríguez today.
Her testimony connected Guillermo Luque to drug usage and sex orgies.
Sister Martha Pelloni has also referenced statements from this young woman.
I do remember Patricia Rodríguez telling me at some point,
that herself and a friend of hers had left Clivus to go to Los Alamos.
Patricia and her friend, whose name I cannot remember at the moment,
left with "El Loco" Mendez,
and Guillermo Luque.
She told me once they got to Los Alamos, they all started having "relations."
In these kinds of trials,
the only real witness is often the victim themselves.
They're able to speak and tell their story through the autopsy report.
"Based on the information that is provided in this autopsy,
the impression given is that
the deceased suffered severe facial trauma."
Yes.
The day the body was found,
you went to the morgue so that you could identify your daughter.
And you told us that, at first, you didn't even recognize her.
Look, sir, I think that…
MARÍA SOLEDAD'S FATHER
In that moment, I would have preferred it if someone
would've shot me, instead of seeing my daughter's body.
I wouldn't wish that
on my daughter's murderer,
having to feel the pain that I felt.
Not even on my daughter's murderer. I couldn't.
ASPHYXIATION
They tried to silence the body,
but the body had injuries everywhere, inflicted while she was still alive.
So, in a way, the body is speaking directly to us.
In reality, what everyone was talking about at the beginning, was the rape.
The rape was committed by either one person,
or by various other unknown people at the time.
"The sexual intercourse took place after the fact."
"These signs point to asphyxiation, which then led to her death."
Is there any substance you know of
that could trigger asphyxiation in a living organism?
Like a human being?
Um, cocaine is a substance that,
if you suffer an overdose, could look like asphyxiation.
And that's primarily because it can trigger cardiorespiratory arrest.
MARÍA SOLEDAD DIED UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF COCAINE
Guillermo Luque, along with other unnamed people,
administered cocaine to María Soledad,
and it was against her will.
The quantity administered was incompatible with voluntary consumption.
They did this to render her defenseless,
so that they could rape her, over, and over, again.
And it was this dosage, that ultimately lead to the death
of María Soledad.
They brought her to the Pasteur Institute
to have her stomach pumped, but she was already dead.
Sister, we've heard a version of the story in which, at the Pasteur Institute,
a nurse had been called to examine a young girl who'd arrived,
who could've been María Soledad Morales,
and saw the girl was completely incapacitated.
She called me and said, "Listen, Martha,
those boys brought María Soledad there that night in one of their trucks."
"She was already dead when she arrived, but she was still intubated."
"I had the catheter to prove it. I had it hidden."
She said, "When the trial started, I sent that catheter to the court."
"But since then, well, the court's been lying to me."
"They said it somehow got lost. And I had that evidence."
From the very start of this trial,
Chief Judge Alejandro Rodolfo Ortiz Iramaín,
has caused controversy, primarily regarding his conduct,
with many suspecting him of partiality.
It was embarrassing.
Because if one of the witnesses started saying something they didn't like,
the judges stopped them and said,
"That's enough."
They were silencing them.
DEFENDANTS AND WITNESSES INTIMIDATED?
We were watching the trial on TV.
And, right from the very start,
we were seeing things that we didn't like.
Some are saying that the scales are tipping against Luis Tula,
and in favor of Guillermo Luque.
You can see it clearly when watching the trial on TV.
Whenever a witness points to Guillermo Luque,
- or connects him to the crime… - You'll speak later!
…the judges go crazy.
I'm warning you that you'll be penalized if you continue acting this way!
A lot of people realized what was really going on.
The whole thing was very fishy.
Amid the many reasons this televised trial has backfired,
the one positive outcome has been control of the trial's transparency.
Especially given the number of suspects, now including the judges.
You can see the suspicious movements of Judge Sampayo,
while the Chief Justice is talking to Judge Azar.
He appears to be shaking his head, as if to indicate to Azar
that she should vote to dismiss the indictment of perjury.
You can see him gesturing to her as if he's saying, "Ignore it."
It's…
The idea of "blind justice" has been undermined constantly,
with doubts about the impartiality of the judges.
The court's response to allegations was banning
any live coverage of the trial,
which obstructed the nation's right to information,
and their ability to freely watch the daily progress of the case.
By prohibiting live coverage,
suspicions around the fairness of this trial are growing.
Supposedly, the trial was about justice, but it wasn't.
I'M 5 AND I WANT FREE, TRANSPARENT JUSTICE WITH NO COVER-UPS FOR THE MORALES FAMILY
Judge Iramaín has decided to resign from the case,
effectively ending the trial.
"Throughout the case, Iramaín behaved
in a way that could only be described as corrupt,
trying to force the other two judges
to state that only Luis Tula was responsible
for María Soledad Morales's death."
They're trying to save Luque at any cost! Let me through!
TRIAL WITH NO TV OR RADIO CATAMARCANS INDIGNANT OVER THE MEASURE
We want justice! We want justice! We want justice!
They're being manipulated! Don't they have children or grandchildren?
We're very saddened by the court's decision.
We're here with Mr. Gustavo Taranto, the lead prosecutor.
What do you make of the court's decision?
The chief Judge has decided to resign.
And while that resignation hasn't been accepted yet,
the trial will likely have to go back to square one.
You said it yourself, the trial basically has to start over again.
Everything that's happened so far has been nullified.
So, that's it. It's back to square one.
And with new judges.
As of today, this incredibly public trial comes to an end, after being nullified.
WHAT NOW?
More than six years after María Soledad's death,
a second trial begins on Friday.
It's the same defendants, witnesses, and prosecutor,
but there are three new judges.
The second trial started in August of 1997,
and ended up taking several months to complete.
Every hearing lasted several hours.
And there were over 300 witnesses with testimonies.
María Soledad's mother has asked that anyone with information
shares what they know.
To everyone who kept quiet because they received threats, I get it.
I understand because I experienced it myself.
The police, instead of actively looking for my daughter's murderers,
decided to come to my house when they saw my husband had gone to court.
They didn't look for the killers, but blamed her instead.
They asked me terrible questions to make me feel ashamed of my own daughter.
Or they'd pressure me not to go to the Marches of Silence,
because they said, "It'd be bad for me."
So, that's why I can say that I understand.
And to anyone who has denigrated my daughter,
whether that be because of pressure from the court or the police,
or because you received death threats,
just know that you have an opportunity to open your hearts.
For the first time, a key witness in the case
has confirmed that Guillermo Luque, Luis Tula, and María Soledad,
were in fact at Clivus on Friday night,
and in the early hours of Saturday the 8th.
Mr. Taranto interrupted the session
to announce that Jesus Muro had expanded on his original testimony.
As he approached, the silence that took over the courtroom was palpable.
Muro took a deep breath and said, "I was scared."
"I received all kinds of threats."
"I had no one to turn to. But today, I'm here to tell the truth."
I can confirm that Miss María Soledad Morales was there.
CRIMINAL COURT CHAMBER
As was Mr. Tula.
CLIVUS BARTENDER
And Mr. Ibáñez.
And finally, Mr. Guillermo Luque was there too.
Tula and Luque have both claimed that they didn't know each other.
You have to tread carefully with that question.
Mr. Ibáñez was with Mr. Luque.
And they basically left together with this whole group of people.
Mr. Tula left a little later.
I didn't hear all of it, but what I did hear was,
"We're gonna leave with the skinny chick first, and then you'll go."
To Tula.
- Luque? - Yes, "El Flaco."
Bravo, Muro! Bravo, Muro! Bravo, Muro!
Then another witness came forward who saw Luque a few days later.
He had four scratches on his face. On his cheek.
I could see them, um, on his face.
I saw that he had these
two or three markings, like scratches.
When I saw them, they looked to me like he'd probably gotten them
in some kind of altercation.
María Soledad's mother, father, and friends, said she had long nails.
But when they went to identify the body,
María Soledad's mother said that it looked like her nails had been cut.
A doctor concluded that it looked like the forensic technician at the morgue
had probably trimmed her nails.
However, this forensic technician denied ever doing this.
The conclusion that we can logically draw from this,
is that there's a connection between the marks on Guillermo Luque's face,
and the mysteriously missing nails on María Soledad's hands.
COVER-UP THEORY REINFORCED
After several months of the proceedings,
and hundreds of witnesses,
we heard closing arguments.
I'm entirely convinced
that the key witness we've needed to listen to throughout this entire case
has been María Soledad Morales, your Honors.
So if you'll allow me, and…
please excuse me, because it's essentially symbolic.
I'd like to say…
This victim's presence has been felt throughout this entire trial.
So what I'm going to do is basically treat it as if she's here with us,
and I would like to let her speak now.
CRIME AGAINST MARÍA SOLEDAD PROSECUTOR'S ARGUMENT
I held up a photo of María Soledad from around when she was killed,
when she was just 17 years old.
I put the picture up on the wall, and tried to let her "speak"
in a symbolic way.
For example, if the expert witnesses' testimony had demonstrated that
Miss Soledad had been abused,
I tried to symbolically present it as her saying, directly, in first-person,
“They raped me. They drugged me against my will, and I didn't want it."
That's the way…
Pardon me.
Sorry.
Could we pause for a second, please?
Look at the photo of this young girl.
She is wearing a school uniform.
She has three-quarter socks on.
At the time of her death, she was only 17.
In this photo, she is wearing the same shoes that she died in, your Honors.
María Soledad Morales is saying,
"They drugged me."
"They drugged me against my will, and I didn't want any of this."
And your excellencies, I believe María Soledad.
And so what else is Miss Soledad saying to us?
She's saying, "They raped me."
Two or more people raped me, and I didn't want it."
And I believe her when she tells us that too.
And as she speaks through her body, what else is María Soledad telling us?
"In the savage violence that they committed against me,
the person who was directly responsible for subjecting my body to this abuse
held me down, forced me to swallow my own blood, and hit me repeatedly."
"They did this to render me completely defenseless."
María Soledad Morales is telling us all of this.
And that's why it's so important.
She's pointing a finger directly at her killers.
And she's saying, "Whoever did this to me is stained with my blood."
"Search his clothes. Search his underwear."
Your Honors, these facts, these reports, these are the facts.
The facts of the case, presented to you
through the transparent testimony of María Soledad Morales,
who has no reason to lie.
Even when used symbolically, she is, and has been,
the key witness in this trial.
And we, the prosecution, are basing our case on her testimony.
And we intend to use it against her perpetrators.
Look here. Our senior year photo.
- Oh yeah, the senior picture. - And this.
Look at this one. Wow.
Sister Martha.
What memories.
471 KM FROM CATAMARCA
Look at the date. December 7th, 1990.
Yes, I remember that day very clearly.
We all cried a lot because one of us wasn't there.
And now I'm going to go to Catamarca.
I know I'll have to relive all this.
But we also need to do this, right? We need to speak about it.
Everybody should know what we had to go through when we were 17.
EMMAUS SPIRITUAL RETREAT
She's here!
Silvia!
You're here!
How's it going? You made it!
Hello, Marcelita! How are you doing?
We had a special bond with Sister Pelloni.
I have lovely memories of our time together.
Things would've gone differently if she wasn't there.
- You're right. - I think Sister Martha enjoyed her youth.
We used to ask her, "Sister, please tell us."
"Please tell us what you liked to do when you were younger."
Of course.
And she'd go, "Well, I smoked and I liked Elvis Presley."
"And that's all I can say."
I remember, once I took María Soledad
on this spiritual retreat that the school had planned.
I used to help out with those things,
and help the girls decide what they wanted to do for a living.
Because, at that age,
a lot of them didn't know what they wanted to do in the future.
This is what Sole wrote 32 years ago, here at the retreat.
They asked her her favorite hobby.
"Listening to music."
Who's your best friend?
There's a name crossed out.
"I don't have one."
A nice memory.
"Falling in love."
A dream.
"To be loved."
What did she love?
"Life."
A mistake.
"Loving the impossible."
And a wish.
"To be someone in life."
Then finally, the judges called us in
to hear the sentence read.
7 YEARS, 5 MONTHS, 20 DAYS SINCE CRIME
There's Judge Álvarez Morales.
Judge Olmedo de Arzuaga has taken a seat in the middle.
And the final judge has taken his seat.
We'll now go live to the courtroom,
and we'll hear the final verdict.
Will the secretary please read the official verdict?
The ruling
is unanimous.
Firstly, Guillermo Daniel Luque has been found guilty
as a criminally responsible co-perpetrator,
of the crime of rape, followed by murder, compounded by the use of narcotics,
and for the congress of two or more people.
Therefore, the court has sentenced him to 21 years in prison,
and absolute disqualification for the duration of the sentence.
Second,
Luis Raúl Tula has been found guilty.
Based on the evidence provided throughout the trial,
he's deemed a secondary accomplice.
He is thereby sentenced to nine years in prison.
And absolute disqualification for the duration of the sentence.
As a mother, I wanted them both to get life in prison,
but for Tula,
who's the man responsible for this entire tragedy,
nine years is nothing for him.
The two of them asked for our forgiveness. But today,
at least, before the court,
I wish they'd asked for Sole's forgiveness,
for all the harm they've caused her.
There were many other people who were also responsible for her murder,
but they were not brought to justice today.
But maybe one day
some of them will ask for forgiveness,
and tell the truth about what really happened.
10 YEARS THE MARÍA SOLEDAD CRIME
There are painful things that you'd like to forget.
But that's impossible.
Because now, it's just…
It's part of our lives.
They're memories that still,
at least, for me personally,
won't allow for those wounds to heal.
A lot of people come up and ask me,
"What was it about María Soledad that moved a whole country,
and was the first case of femicide to be seen as femicide?"
Until that point, women were always blamed for these crimes.
If a man had a violent outburst,
it was because a woman talked back to him, or she triggered him in some way…
It's because María Soledad was exactly like any other little kid.
We're all 50 years old now.
I think about what she would've accomplished by now.
She might be showing us photos of her kids.
Everything she dreamed about, but couldn't do.
That really hurts.
It hurts a lot.
When I close my eyes and think about her,
I just picture one of the best things about her.
I think about her vibrant smile.
We know that we did everything we could do.
And that we put our entire hearts into this.
And that we didn't fail Sole.
We didn't fail her.
We defended her the best we could,
until the end.
And our hope is that…
that this…
this enormous loss,
this life that was lost,
will help to raise awareness,
to continue to raise awareness.
Every 13 hours, a woman dies because of gender-based violence.
And so María Soledad is…
She's a symbol.
She's a symbol of the social battle
that we, as women, must keep fighting every day.
FOR OUR CLASSMATE MARÍA SOLEDAD WE DEMAND JUSTICE
NOT ONE LESS WOMAN
WE'RE THE CRY OF THOSE WHO ARE NO LONGER HERE
IF IT'S ME TOMORROW, LET ME BE THE LAST
YOU'RE NOT ALONE
NOT ONE LESS WOMAN
VALLE VIEJO MUNICIPAL CEMETERY
#ENOUGH
WE'RE THE CRY OF THOSE WHO NO LONGER HAVE A VOICE
WHAT DO THEY KILL… WHEN THEY KILL US?
LUCILA YACONIS NOT ONE LESS
NOT ONE LESS WOMAN
NOT ONE STEP BACKWARDS
SISTER: IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT
ENOUGH FEMICIDE! WOMEN TO THE FIGHT, WE ARE MANY!
I DON'T WANT A COUNTRY WHERE THEY KILL US!
IF I DON'T RETURN TOMORROW, LOOK FOR ME AMONG THE STARS
NOT ONE LESS
GUILLERMO LUQUE GOT 21 YEARS IN PRISON FOR THE RAPE AND DEATH OF MARÍA SOLEDAD.
AFTER 14 YEARS IN PRISON, HE WAS GRANTED PAROLE FOR GOOD BEHAVIOR.
LUIS TULA GOT 9 YEARS IN PRISON AS AN ACCOMPLICE TO THE CRIME OF RAPE.
LIKE LUQUE, HE WAS GIVEN PAROLE BEFORE COMPLETING HIS SENTENCE.
NO OTHERS WERE CONVICTED, EVEN FOR ATTEMPTING TO COVER UP THE CRIME
AND OBSTRUCTING THE INVESTIGATION.
IN 2011, LUIS PATTI GOT LIFE IN PRISON FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
COMMITTED DURING THE MILITARY DICTATORSHIP.
NOW 83, SISTER MARTHA PELLONI HAS NEVER GIVEN UP THE FIGHT.
IN 2008, SHE FOUNDED THE STOLEN CHILDHOOD NETWORK
TO HELP VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING, ABUSE, AND SEXUAL EXPLOITATION.