Investigation opened against the Lanzarote court that investigated the Romina Celeste case

The General Council of the Judiciary will delve into what happened after a complaint filed by the victim's family's lawyer, according to the newspaper El País

February 22 2023 (12:51 WET)
Updated in February 23 2023 (06:09 WET)
Raúl Díaz, accused of the violent death of his wife, Romina Celeste Núñez, leaving Tahiche prison (PHOTO: José Luis Carrasco)
Raúl Díaz, accused of the violent death of his wife, Romina Celeste Núñez, leaving Tahiche prison (PHOTO: José Luis Carrasco)

The General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) will investigate the actions of the Investigating Court number one of Arrecife in the case of Romina Celeste, according to El País. Raúl Díaz Cachón, accused of killing and dismembering his wife, was released from prison after spending four years in pre-trial detention, the maximum time allowed by law, without yet having a date for his trial.

According to information from El País, the disciplinary authority of the Council admitted the complaint filed by the victim's family's lawyer. In the document, the lawyer Emilia Zeballos described the court's attitude as "relaxed" and pointed to the authorities for entering "into the game" of the defense's maneuvers to delay the investigation.

Through the Citizen Attention Unit, the complaint reached Ricardo Conde, promoter of the disciplinary action of the CGPJ. According to the procedure, the promoter must now prepare a report of the court. That will be the previous step to determine whether or not to open a disciplinary file against the Investigating Court of Lanzarote, which may end in sanction for the holder.

The complaint filed by the lawyer recounts the impediments encountered during the judicial investigation. In November 2019, the Civil Guard was commissioned to prepare an expert report on some scissors purchased by the accused to determine if they could cut human flesh. It was not until January 2020 that the case was referred to the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. This last request was prepared up to two times: in January and June 2020.

After the second request, the agency asked that the scissors be sent to them for analysis. On August 27, 2020, they arrived at the Institute of Legal Medicine. Still, they were not studied then. The following year, in July 2021, the court reiterated its request to the agency. There was no response. It was not until March 2022 when the court set an ultimatum and gave the agency 10 days to deliver the expert report. The test arrived in April 2022.

The lawyer for Romina Celeste's family described the diligence of the scissors as "irrelevant" and considered that it was only a maneuver to waste time. The case of the scissors was not the only one to delay the case. The defense also requested a psychological report of the accused, but for the accusing lawyer the result of that report did not condition "the guilt or the circumstances of imposing the penalty".

The investigation of the CGPJ is added to the one initiated by the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC). The highest judicial body of the Canary Islands carried out a first investigation when last January the release of the accused was known, but did not consider that there was any alteration in the cause.

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