A CONICET scientist was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a friend

Luciana Teresita Bustos, a CONICET researcher, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Marcelo Amarfil, which occurred during a sexual encounter. The crime took place in January last year in the province of San Juan.

According to the accusation, that night Bustos immobilized Amarfil by tying his hands, put a blindfold on him, and then slit his throat and stabbed him six times.

The judicial process began on April 8, but had to be interrupted because Judge Guillermo Adárvez suffered a heart attack and had to receive emergency medical attention.

The trial resumed at the end of April and, on Monday, the court composed of Adárvez, Gerardo Fernández Caussi, and Matías Parrón delivered the verdict. By unanimous decision, they imposed the maximum sentence after finding Bustos guilty of "double aggravated homicide due to the relationship and premeditation."

The judges argued that there was a friendship between the accused and the victim, which justified the aggravating factor due to the relationship, in addition to the fact that the crime was committed by taking advantage of the victim's defenselessness.

Before the verdict was announced, Luciana Teresita Bustos expressed a few brief words: "I thank my family for their affection. I feel deep pain for Marcelo's relatives. I want to hug Graciela (the victim's sister). I continue to maintain my innocence."

The murder of Marcelo Amarfil took place on the night of January 16, 2024. According to the reconstruction by the justice system, Bustos picked him up at his home, they went together to a bar, and in the early hours of the following day they went to an area near Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Airport, where they allegedly had sexual relations.

When a police officer arrived at the scene, Bustos claimed that her friend had taken his own life. However, forensic examinations determined that it was a violent murder.

The case

The court file details precisely how the moments before the crime unfolded. "In these circumstances, the couple prepared to have a sexual encounter inside the vehicle; Marcelo José Amarfil was in the driver's seat, completely naked, with his hand mobility reduced, since he was wearing dark brown leather wrist cuffs with a hook and chain (this is a sexual and/or erotic accessory); in addition, he was unable to see, as his eyes were covered with a black fabric blindfold (similar to those used for sleeping), while Luciana Bustos was in the passenger seat," states the official reconstruction of the case.

According to the findings of the investigation, Bustos allegedly took advantage of Amarfil's defenselessness to grab a knife—which, according to records, she had sharpened days earlier—and inflicted six stab wounds. One of the cuts was to the face and another to the neck, the latter being fatal, as it "completely severed the primary right carotid artery, as well as vessels and arteries."

Despite the severe injuries, Amarfil managed to free himself from the restraints that held him to the steering wheel and got out of the car, attempting to escape on foot. However, he collapsed a few meters away and died from hypovolemic shock caused by massive blood loss.

A police officer patrolling the area on a preventive round encountered Bustos near the vehicle. The woman was in her underwear, without a jersey, and with her hands stained with a reddish substance. "My friend killed himself, he killed himself with a knife," she lied to the officer.