Nora Dalmasso case: the main suspect's lawyer spoke out nearly 19 years after the crime

The premiere of the recent Netflix docuseries "The Thousand Deaths of Nora Dalmasso" coincided with a series of developments in the case of the still-unsolved murder of the woman from Río Cuarto.

Meanwhile, on screen, hundreds of images surrounding what happened in the Villa Golf Club neighborhood in November 2006 return, with testimonies from family members such as her children Facundo and Valentina and the widower Marcelo Macarrón. Outside the platforms, the case continues to generate developments.

After years without concrete progress in the case, with the  acquittal of Macarrón and also his son (both were accused), at the end of last year there was a significant development regarding the case file.

In December 2024, prosecutor Pablo Jávega identified Roberto Marcos Bárzola  as a suspect in the crime of "Norita."

Bárzola, identified as the alleged perpetrator of the Nora Dalmasso crime

In 2006, at 27 years old, Bárzola was working as an employee of a carpenter who was doing work at the Macarróns' house in the country club.

The accused was responsible for polishing the wooden floors.

Prosecutor Jávega found that Bárzola's DNA matches that of a pubic hair found in the victim's groin area.

His DNA also matched the genetic traces found in eight cuts of the belt of the bathrobe used to strangle the woman.

Zacarías Ramírez Rigo, Bárzola's defense attorney, keeps that the case is time-barred and that in a truth trial "it could also cause him harm, for which Bárzola will file a claim," according to La Voz del Interior correspondent Denise Audrito.

It is worth noting that whoever is found to be the murderer could not be convicted because this type of crime has a statute of limitations of 15 years.

Nora Dalmasso, almost 20 years after the crime

Nevertheless, since Dalmasso has been recognized as a victim of gender-based violence, and due to international treaties to which the State has adhered, there is an obligation to continue investigating regardless of the statute of limitations in the case.

But Nora's children argue that despite the time that has passed (almost 19 years), their mother's murder has not expired because the years in which they were persecuted and could not represent the victim as plaintiffs should not be counted.

"If they decide to hold a truth trial, we want to know what the rules will be and how it will be conducted, especially by the prosecuting body. If the Public Prosecutor's Office oversteps and asks me for measures as if it were a regular trial, I will file a claim for damages," said Bárzola's defense attorney.

"The truth trial is to find out the truth, not to impose a penalty or punishment on whoever may or may not have been the perpetrator. There is harm caused by the persecution of my client, they are trying to convict him socially and with the prospect of obtaining a punishment, when the penalty is time-barred," he concluded.

The Nora Dalmasso crime

Nora Dalmasso was found in her bedroom bed half-naked, strangled with the belt of her bathrobe and struck with a blunt object.

The autopsy determined that she died of asphyxiation due to strangulation and that she had been killed after a consensual encounter, since there were no signs that she had defended herself from a sexual attack.

The case had dozens of elements that fueled the tabloid press for years.

It was said that  "Norita" had lovers and there was talk of sexual games.

The woman was married to orthopedic surgeon Marcelo Macarrón, who at the time of the murder was playing golf in Punta del Este with friends.

Her children, Facundo and Valentina, were then 19 and 16 years old, respectively. That day, the eldest was in Córdoba capital, the youngest on an exchange program in the United States.

A family that is still seeking justice for Nora Dalmasso.