"I didn't want to kill her, I just hid her." These were the words that, according to a National Police officer, Verónica's stepmother uttered at the time of her arrest, after having fled upon finding the young woman's remains and being located "six kilometers" from her home in Tinajo. "She was very agitated, nervous and stated that she wanted to end her life," the police officer stated.
Ten officers have testified in the second session of the trial for the Verónica case held this Thursday, revealing some of the confessions that Carmen Delia made in her day. "Before reading her rights, she said that one day, in July 2012, Verónica was in bed with her eyes open and not moving," another police officer pointed out. According to what he specified, the young woman's stepmother said that she "shook her" and "threw water on her," but "she remained in the same position." Then, according to her account, "José Luis arrived and told her that he would take care of it and took her down to a workshop."
"Carmen Delia said that she went down later and found the bag with some bones," the officer added. The officer who inspected the crack where they were found also spoke about the bones, and pointed out that when he opened the bag he saw "a femur head of human appearance," a fact that the forensic doctor later corroborated, according to his account.
Some of the police officers who have testified have also highlighted the large number of "rooms, workshops and garages" that were in the house, pointing to the existence of "a mattress" in a garage. "It was a room with dirty walls, unhealthy, not suitable for living there," an officer pointed out, adding that the house was "a mess, with many things from the countryside and mattresses."
Another police officer pointed out that in "a plot of land a few meters away" belonging to the family there was an "entrance to another garage" and a patio with "different cubicles," almost all occupied "by animals." At the back, he explained, there was another room "with a door that was not very wide or very high and a small window." Inside, the floor was "a layer of cement" and "the walls were partially tiled" and there was "a small table, a bed frame and a mattress." From the bed frame, the officer indicated, there were "two dogs tied" and there were "yellowish stains on the floor" like "urine from the animals."
In this regard, it should be remembered that, in her day, Verónica's stepsister, Keila, stated that her mother "locked" the young woman in a garage. However, the police officers who testified this Thursday have not been able to specify which was Verónica's room. "We applied chemicals looking for traces and it tested positive in several rooms, but no main one was determined," said an officer who testified by videoconference.
"They were worried about excavating in the garden"
The statement of the workers of an Inalsa subcontractor who went to do a job at the house has been remembered again this Thursday. "They said that the people in the house were worried about excavating in the garden, that they were with them all the time, and that when they were told that they would only dig 30 centimeters they calmed down," the police officer who interrogated them pointed out.
Another officer, in charge of "tracking purchases" made by the family, highlighted "the large number of abortion pills" that the pharmacy in the town assured him that Keila had bought "in the second half of 2012." The assistant of the same already declared in the first session stating that she had warned the young woman of the dangers of her abusive use.
The trial for the Verónica case is scheduled to end this Friday, after the testimony of more witnesses, forensic doctors and the final conclusions.